Three Is Better Than One
by ThomThom
Summary: Kennedy and Faith are sisters, they go to Sunnydale to fight Buffy, but things don't exacltly go according to plan. It's sort of a season re-write. UDATED FINALLY! 8/5...
1. Chapter 1

-1Hi. This is a story that I actually have posted somewhere else as well but I wanted to put out in other places too, so here it is. It's basically a season re-write, but the whole re-writing doesn't start in this chapter, this is just to get it on the road. Hope you enjoy it, and tell me what you think. Thanks.-ThomThom

Chapter One: Three Is Better Than One

They were in yet another new town, wondering around looking for something to get into, whether legal or illegal, but this time they had a little bit of a reason for being there. They were looking for a girl, a girl named Buffy Summers, she was the slayer, and unbeknownst to her, she wasn't the only one. Faith and Kennedy hadn't had much to do sense their watcher died, and there was no way that they wanted to go and live with their parents, so they'd do freelance jobs instead to pass the time. One night, they wandered into a next of vampires, wandered as in found the nest and set it on fire, one of the vampires mentioned a name…Buffy Summers, and so they were on the move once again. It was Faith who had decided that they would go and find 'the slayer', she was the older of the two, and so she was in charge. She only wanted to go to prove that she was better then the only known slayer, after one of the vampires assumed that she was some chick named Buffy, she wasn't exactly happy.

"Do I look like someone with the name Buffy?"

Kennedy laughed, "no, but Faith isn't much better," her sister shot her a look, "you know considering that you're all scanky…if I saw you on a street somewhere I'd think your name would be Jewels or some kind of random hooker name."

She shoved her sister into a wall and kept walking like nothing happened, "I think this is the place," she looked up at the sign above the door, "I'm looking forward to meeting this Betty chick."

"Her name's Buffy," Kennedy said as she walked up to her sister, rubbing her soar arm, "yeah this is it, The Bronze…that's lame," they walked into the club, both shocked to see so many people that were there, "apparently lame names attract lame people."

"So what does this chick look like again?" Faith asked as she pushed her way through the crowd, she spotted a cute guy, and smiled, "they're not all lame…some of them look like they'd be able to help me out, if you know what I mean."

"What?" she followed her sister's eyes, spotting some guy with short spiked hair grinning, "ewe…that's fucking nasty. We are not here for you to find another boy-toy," annoyed by her sisters short attention span, and abnormal sex drive, she just continued to make her way through the crowd. Then she accidentally knocked someone's drink out of their hand, "oh shit, I'm sorry."

"You better watch it loser," the brunette girl said angrily.

Kennedy frowned, "whoa, I said I was sorry."

"Well I don't accept your apology."

"What are you five?" she stepped up to the girl, "I said I was sorry so back off," somehow, this always seemed to happen to her. She and Faith would go somewhere, Faith would leave her so she could get laid, and then some random asshole would want to fight her. Usually, it would be a guy, but this time it was some prep girl in a tight blue dress. Which Kennedy would usually think was hot, but conceited wasn't her type, and it was obvious that this girl was full of herself, "what's your name?"

"Excuse you? I don't think my name is important right about now, but you know what is," Kennedy raised her eyebrows signaling her to continue, "you buying me another drink."

"That's funny, I thought you said I was going to buy you a drink," she smiled, "I only buy drink for the girls I want to sleep with…you're not one of them," the girl looked at her, shocked by what she just said. A group of girls started to gather behind her, one with blonde her stepping up further then the rest, "oh you've got to be kidding me…please tell me your name is not Buffy."

"What a freak…my name is not Buffy, it's Harmony," the blonde headed girl said.

This made Kennedy smile even harder, "oh good that means I can do this," she reached over to two random people and grabbed their drinks, then she poured them all over the two annoying girls in front of her. They both started to scream as the cold liquid ran down their dressed. Kennedy smiled, "you look better wet…that sounded a little naughty didn't it?" she shrugged, "oh well."

"You freak!" the girls ran off with their friends, giving the mystery girl dirty looks as they did.

Kennedy waved at them as she laughed hysterically, "there are moments that are just too good to pass up," she said to herself. Getting back to why she was there in the first place, she searched for her sister in the crowd so they could get back to business, but what she saw when she found her let her know that she was on her own for awhile. Faith had already managed to get the spike-haired guy on one of the sofas in a corner, and they were now in the middle of a heavy makeout session, "great."

"Wow, anyone that manages to get Cordelia to run out of here screaming deserves a high-five in my book."

She turned around to see some geeky guy staring at her with his hand in the air, "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, I'm Xander," he said nervously, then he realized what he just said, and hit himself on the head, "yeah, that was…I know that you're name isn't sorry," she continued to stare at him like he was crazy, not saying a single word, making him even more nervous. It wasn't like he approached girls all the time, or ever really, "yeah I don't usually do this…that's probably obvious."

It was obvious, it had been a while since she had been hit on by a guy, simply because she didn't close enough to them for them to say anything, and now she knew why. Despite the fact that she wasn't really in the mood to socialize, she decided to give the guy a break, he seemed nice and he did just make a fool of himself, "I think you did pretty well…but try not to mention another girl while you're hitting on someone that you're interested in," she leaned over, "it kind of ruins it."

He laughed, "thanks for the tip…so are you new in town?" he asked since the girl wasn't running in the other direction.

"Yeah, me and my sister just moved here actually."

"That's cool, which part of town do you live in?" he asked trying to keep the conversation going.

There was no way she could answer that question, they weren't staying anywhere, and she knew nothing about the town to randomly pick a place, "well we haven't officially moved…we're thinking about it."

"Ah, well Sunny-D is a great place, we have The Bronze here and…" he looked up as he thought, "the high school, and…well that's it," they both laughed, making him feel even more confident, "sounds fun doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I'm sure it's a blast," normally she wouldn't do this, she wouldn't start talking to random people, because she knew that making friends for even a second was a bad idea. It's not like they were staying, and if she did make friends, she'd be wondering what life would be like if she was able to stay and really get to know them for the next couple of weeks, but it's not like she had anything better to do. It's not like she was the one wanting to fight 'the slayer' she'd only come because of her sister, who was occupied at the moment, "you lived here long?"

"Forever," he smiled a goofily, glad to see that she was still wanting to talk to him, "it's not as boring as it seems…um you wanna come and sit with me and my friends?"

She gulped, 'not a good idea Kennedy, we're here for once reason, and one reason alone', as she though this, she had already said sure and was being guided to Xander's group of friends. There were three of them, a girl with Red hair that immediately caught her eye, "this is Willow," he said, then there was some guy with black hair that was awfully close to the read head, "this is Oz," he said, and then last he introduced a blonde girl that was at the table, "and this is Buffy. Everyone, this is Kennedy."

Buffy smiled, "nice to meet you Kennedy."

"You too," she couldn't help but feel disappointed about the fact that Xander was friends with the slayer her sister had come to fight, it was just her luck for something to go wrong.

"Kennedy's new in town, hasn't even found a place yet," Xander said as he offered her a chair and then sat down next to her, "I'm trying to convince her to stay…it's not going well."

Willow smiled, "aww, we'll have to fix that," she looked over to Oz, "what are some great things about Sunnydale?" before he could answer she turned back to Kennedy, "oh, there are mochas…really good mochas."

"Yes, mochas that you should stop drinking," Buffy said while giving her friend a look.

Willow just rolled her eyes, "I'm just trying to help."

"I think you're very helpful," Oz said sweetly, then they kissed each other, just a quick peck, "I think I want to move to Sunny-D too."

"Aw, that's sweet," the red head said as she stared into the boy's eyes.

Buffy laughed, "forgive them, they tend to forget that some of us don't want to see them make puppy dog eyes at each other. I keep trying to tell them that not all of us-" she trailed off as she noticed a girl approaching them. It wasn't just the scanky outfit that caught her attention, in a bad way I might add, but as soon as they made eye contact, she felt something…something she had felt once before, "oh my god she's a-"

"Hey sis," Faith said as she walked up behind Kennedy, "seems like the guy was lame anyway…this place sucks…he sucked, and not in a good way," she noticed that the people that her sister was sitting with were looking at her like she was crazy, "do I have a hickey or something/" she asked as she touched her neck.

"No, you're hickey free," Buffy said as she stared at the girl, "so you guys are sisters then?"

Kennedy had noticed the look in the blonde girl's eyes when her sister had come over, it was obviously that she was feeling something strange, and if her sister hadn't been drinking, the smell of alcohol was radiating off of her, she probably would've noticed too, but in the mean time it was best not to let Faith speak. She wasn't in good shape to fight at the moment, "oh yeah, this is my sister Faith."

"I have a sister," Buffy blurted. She laughed feeling a little embarrassed, "I don't know why I said that."

Faith looked at the blonde girl, thinking that she was a little weird, she leant down next to her sister, "is this that Betty chick?"

"Her name's Buffy," Kennedy corrected.

Buffy frowned, "you thought my name was Betty? What the-"

"I think the real question is how does either one of them know your name," a man approached the table, "but I think I know the answer to that," he extended his hand for both of the new arrivals to shake, "hi, I'm Rupert Giles, Buffy's watcher, and you must be Kennedy and Faith…the vampire slayer. I was told, by a series of beat up watchers that you ran into, that you were coming."

"Thanks for telling us," Xander said as he stared at the British man, "it'd be nice if you told us these things."

"I don't know I kind of like surprises," Willow said as she tried to help the man out. At this moment she noticed that Kennedy was smiling at her, and she blushed. It took her a minute to realize what was happening, when she did she turned back to Giles, "but a warning would've been nice."

Kennedy knew what the red head was doing, and smiled harder, "then life would be so boring," she said seductively.

Faith looked between her sister and the red head, and rolled her eyes, "let's just get to the point here, I came to kick blondy's ass, once I'm done with that I'm out of here, so let's go."

"Are you kidding me," Buffy stood up from her chair, "you think you can kick my ass? Try it and I'll…I'll…kick your ass," 'what the hell was that Summers?' she said mentally, 'what's wrong with me?'

"That was original," Faith said smiling.

Giles cleared his throat, "no one will be kicking anyone's…ass. I've received a call from the council," everyone groaned, "yeah get over it…they called, along with you two's parents, and was told to set you up here," both of the sisters gave him a look that said that there was no way they were going to listen to him, "it's either that or I tell your parents where you are and you go home with them," they kept the same look, "or I call the cops, and you end up in jail after being on the run for months."

"I guess we're moving here Kenn," Faith said thinking of what life in jail would be like, basically its lack of men, "so where are we gonna stay?"

"You'll stay at Buffy's," the man said simply.

"What? They can't stay with me," Buffy said, her voice now high pitched, "why can't they stay with you?"

He took off his glasses and began to clean them with his shirt, "I don't think it looks good for a man…of my age to let some random sixteen and seventeen year old stay in my house. I have friends you know? They would suspect something."

Buffy walked away from the table, "there is no way they're staying at my house."

Buffy watched the two sisters fight over a bag of chips while they sat on the couch, the oldest of the two putting the other in a head lock until she gave in, "I cannot believe they're staying here," she said as she walked into the kitchen. Willow had promised to spend the night to make things a little easier, after the blonde slayer had begged her to, "thanks again for staying," she said nicely.

"Well, it's not like I had a choice…I can only take so much of your sad face before I give in," she leaned on the island in the middle of the room, "I can't believe they're staying with you."

"It's only temporary, keep that in mind," she looked back into the living room, now Kennedy was pinning her sister on the floor, "what is up with them, they've been fighting over the same bag of chips for an hour now?"

Willow looked in the living room too, and as soon as she did Kennedy looked up directly at her making her go back into the kitchen. She had tried to avoid moments like that with the new girl after the whole blushing incident at The Bronze but every time she was around the girl, they'd end up staring at each other.

Buffy looked at her best friend, "what's up?" the girl had been doing that all night since their visitors had arrived, "something bothering you?"

"It's nothing, I'm just tired," she said as she tried to ignore whatever Kennedy was saying in the next room, "who's sleeping where?"

"Well I've been thinking about that," she looked back into the living room, now Faith was sitting on her sister, "at first I thought they'd both sleep down here, but then I thought about it and it's better to keep an eye on them, so I was thinking you and Faith could sleep down here," the red head's eyes widened, "but then I thought about that…leaving you with a possibly psychotic slayer equals bad idea," her friend nodded in agreement, "so it's gonna be me and Faith in my room, and you're gonna sleep in Dawn's room. Since Dawn's is right next to my room, meaning that it's night a far run if something were to go wrong…Kennedy can sleep in there with you guys."

Willow gulped, "great."

Willow felt hands on her shoulder, shaking her gently, "is it morning already?" she mumbled groggily, "I don't want to go to school Mom, I'm feeling a little fluie."

"One, I am not your mother and two, you are such a liar," Dawn shook the red head harder, "Willow wake up, Kennedy's-"

Buffy barged into the room, "she's gone."

"Who's gone?" Willow asked, now fully awake. She looked down at the floor, "where's Kennedy?" the last thing she remembered was the girl sleeping soundlessly next to the bed, then she made herself turn over because she realized that she had been staring.

"Her and Faith snuck out," the blonde slayer said angrily. It was only their first night and they were already sneaking out, and she actually didn't even notice it happening. The only reason she knew that Faith had left was because she had gotten up to go patrol after waking up and not being able to go to sleep, but it seemed that the other slayer had already beaten her to it, "we gotta go Will."

Dawn stood up, "oh, can I go?" she asked excitedly.

"No," Buffy said simply, "let's go Will, I really don't want to hear Giles's mouth if they skip town."

The red head got up from Dawn's bed, "you really think they're gonna leave…even after what Giles said about calling the cops?" she asked. The blonde girl went on a rant about how Faith had been acting all night, while she found some clothes to put on. Blue pajamas with yellow ducks on them didn't seem like the thing to wear, "where are we going?"

"Well, if she's anything like me, she'll want to go and slay something first….so the cemetery," they both grabbed their jackets and headed down stairs, "that's wear they better be or I'm in a crap load of trouble."

At the moment they had heard that Giles was going to the police, they both knew that they were going to head out of town as soon as they saw the opportunity. It hadn't been that hard really, they waited for their 'roommates' to fall asleep, and then snuck out the window as quietly as possible. To their surprise they didn't even get caught sneaking out the window, they had thought that the girls would wake up and they'd have to make a run for it, but no…they just snuck out with no problem.

"I think we should just leave," Kennedy said as she followed her sister into a graveyard, "can't you kill something later…you do realize that you don't have time to have sex after this right?"

"Yeah, so what," the girl shot her a look, "I can survive one night without getting laid."

"Hmm, I was beginning to wonder," they had been wandering around for about an hour, no vampires or demons in sight, "I'm just gonna sit for a minute…what I'm tired okay," she said after her sister laughed at her. She found a large head stone and sat on top of it, crossing her legs, "hope you don't mind me sitting here Roger."

"Who the hell are you talking to," she looked at the headstone and then up at her sister, "I think you're going crazy. First you make friends with those geeks that the slayer hangs out with and now you're talking to a dead guy."

"Well it's not like I have anyone else to talk to," she said harshly.

Faith sighed, "are really gonna talk about this again…I talk to you all the time Kenn."

"I don't think telling me about your sex life counts as talking."

It was true, she did talk about her sex life a lot, but it wasn't like there was much else to talk about. They were always moving around, looking for trouble to get into, and then moving along, "well what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Nothing, I don't want to talk."

"Then why the fuck are we talking about this," she rolled her eyes, "you make me crazy, you know that?" after a moment of silence she walked over to her sister, "there's nothing going on here, lets go to a club or something," she walked off without waiting for her sister to protest.

"Great cause going to a club with you is so much fun."

Willow and Buffy walked into the cemetery, both of them keeping their eyes out for the trouble makers that had them wandering around at three in the morning. It was freezing cold outside and both of them had to go to school in the morning, and they knew it was definitely going to be a long day if they didn't get any sleep. Normally, Buffy would be out anyways, but she preferred to not have to track someone she didn't even get along with down.

"I can't stand her," she mumbled to herself.

"Who?" the red head asked.

"Faith," she picked up the pace as she thought about the annoying girl, "do you know what she did all night? She laid on my floor talking trash the whole time, saying all this stuff about me being someone with a stick up my ass."

Willow frowned, "she said ass? Kennedy curses a lot too, like every other word I had to cover me my ears."

"I know it's like they were raised by some motorcycle gang or something. All they do is fight and curse, " she thought about how the two sisters had been fighting over one bag of chips for like two hours, "they're going to drive me nuts," they continued to walk around for about another hour, by then the slayer was beyond angry, "I can't believe this…they can't already be out of town…can they?"

Kennedy watched her sister dancing with a bunch of guys and sighed. She hated this about Faith, hated the fact that she had to watch her ignore the pain she was in by sleeping with random guys, and slaying non-stop. They hardly ever talked about their watcher, or how they watched her get killed, that topic was always off limits according to the slayer, but Kennedy wanted to talk about it. If not just to get it out, then to make sure that she didn't end up like her sister who she noticed was starting to go a little crazy.

"Hey, I met you earlier right? I'm Oz," he sat down next to the brunette girl, "it's weird finding you here at four in the morning…you guys skipping town?"

She looked at him and then turned away, "what do you think?"

He smiled, "I think you're sick of running."

"I think you're full of shit," she snapped back, "Red tell you that we were gone?" there was no way the guy just happened to be there, it was only a matter of time before the slayer realized that they were gone, but she had hoped to be a little further away when it happened, "that's my cue to get out of here."

He put his hand on her arm, "or you could just sit back and wait for Buffy and Willow to get here…I called them and told them where you were a while ago, they'll be here in a minute."

She pulled her arm away, "what's up with you?" she asked.

"I'm trying to help…these guys are good people, they can help you deal with whatever it is you two are going through…" he looked over to the door seeing Willow and Buffy walk in, then he turned back to Kennedy, "if you let them."

Kennedy turned to look at her sister, who was completely unaware of the trouble they were about to be in, then she looked back at Oz, "Faith wants to leave, so we're leaving."

"What do you want?" he asked.

Faith looked over at her sister and noticed the familiar guy she was talking to, 'shit that's Red's boy,' she pushed her way through the crowd, "Kenn, let's go," just as she reached to grab the girl, another hand caught hers; it was Buffy, "let go of me B."

"B?" she frowned, "first you call me Betty, now you're calling me B," she twisted the girls arm behind her back, grabbed her shoulder and pushed her against a wall, "really not in the mood for your little act right now, so why don't you make this easy and just come back to my house so we can call Giles, he can deal with you."

Faith swung her head back hitting the other slayer in the nose, "what B, you havin trouble handling all of this," the slayer pointed to herself, "damn, I didn't know I was that hard to handle," she smirked, "that's too bad I thought you would be a challenge, a good one at that, but nope…your just one more thing standing in my way."

Buffy held her hand over her bleeding nose, "standing in your way to what?"

"Being the best at what I do…but I guess I already am."

"That's funny," she hit the girl in the face sending her flying back, "I thought you were just some slut looking for some action…maybe that's what you do."

Kennedy went over to the slayer and put her arm around her throat, squeezing it tightly, "you mess with her, you deal with me," the blonde girl elbowed her in the stomach, and she held on tighter, "I'm stronger then I look."

Willow watched the scene in a panic, "god this is a disaster," she mumbled some things under her breath, trying to find some way to help her friend.

Kennedy felt a sharp pain in her side and lost her grip on the slayer, "what the-" the next thing she knew, a fist was flying at her face, then she was on the ground, "holy shit that hurt."

"Yeah well, I'm a slayer," Buffy said with a smile, then she was tackled to the ground, "oh come on," she turned over to see that it was Faith that had attacked her, "tougher then I thought."

"Dumber then I thought," Faith replied, "what idiot turns their back on their opponent."

Buffy flipped the girl over so she was on top, "ooo, watcher talk…you must have been a good little girl for your watcher," once again she found herself being attacked out of nowhere, this time she was thrown off of Faith, "this isn't a fair fight."

Faith went to finish the job, seeing the perfect opportunity to take the girl out, but her sister stopped her, "what are you doing K, this is the perfect time to take care of this…then you and me can get out of here."

"No Faith," she said gripping her sisters arm tighter, "I'm sick of running."

"What are you talking about?" she asked confused by what she was hearing.

"I don't want to run anymore…look at you, you're about to kill a human, a slayer, but still a human. What do you think she would say about this," the look in her sisters eyes let her know that she knew exactly who she was talking about without even saying their former watchers name, "this isn't you Faith…I don't want to run anymore."

"Kennedy…" she looked into her sisters eyes and for the first time, she noticed the pain that was in them. They had been on their own for a while now but it was the first time she had ever noticed that the girl might not of been as happy as she seemed. That alone made her realize something, she hadn't thought about how moving around so much would affect the one person that had always been there for her. Sadly, she looked at her sister, "okay."

"Okay?" she wasn't sure that she had heard right, "okay what?"

"We don't have to run anymore…we can stay here if you want," her sister hugged her suddenly, at first she was thrown by it, but then she returned the hug, squeezing the girl tightly, "god you're such a softy."

Willow leaned over towards Oz, "aww, that's cute," she frowned, "their sisterness…not the hugging that's not cute…not that it's something more then cute…it's nice."

He laughed, "I knew what you meant Will," he said as he wrapped his arm around her, "it is nice…we've got them to stay, and without giving them Mochas…mission accomplished."

"Yeah, mission accomplished," she looked at the two sisters, 'is that why I really wanted them to stay?'

Faith pulled from the hug and went over to Buffy, "sorry about that B," she extended her hand to help her up and after hesitating, Buffy took it, "I have good news though…looks like me and my sis will be moving here after all. That means you'll get to see me all the time…isn't that exciting" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's great."

"You still gonna call your watcher?" Kennedy asked nervously, she had witnessed the wrath of an angry watcher before, and definitely wasn't up for seeing it again.

"One thing you should know about Buffy," Xander said as he walked up, noticing that he had missed all the action, "she doesn't really do anything Giles tells her to."

"She came looking for us cause he told her to watch us," Faith said looking at the goofy boy.

Xander smiled, "you must be special."

"Yeah in a mental sort of way," Buffy said as she walked past the group, "you guys coming, we have about one hour left before we have to go school."

Both Faith and Kennedy frowned, "school?"

--TO BE CONTINUED--

I've got about six chapters of this up on the other site if you wanna check it out, it's under a different name there, so just go to the author directory thing, and look for Adalaide, and all of my stuff is there, or you could just wait for me to post the rest of them. I just want to see if anyone is interested, so let me know. I'm gonna post one other story too, so feel free to check that out too. Thanks.-Thom Thom


	2. Never For No Reason

-1Hey guys, I'm glad you're liking the story…and I have some newness to add to it. You might have noticed some things…little things like whoa Cordy and Xander aren't going out, or whoa Kakistos (the vampire that killed Faith's watcher and came after her after she gave him a booboo on his eye), maybe the fact that Kendra mentioned…or Angel…and Willow can do more then float a pencil. Hmm, maybe I've been leading you down a deceiving path…(evil laughter). Would you like to know what's going on? What if I told you that it was Faith that was next in line, not Kendra, and she was the one who helped Buffy try to stop Spike and Dru from doing that ritual thing to make Dru strong again…that would change some things wouldn't it? Why didn't Buffy mention Angel, why wasn't he around? Well did she go and tell Kendra her life story?…nope. Just like Kendra, Faith and Kennedy left after the whole ritual thing, except they didn't come back to help Buffy when Angel lost his soul. So the question is…how does the story continue, and what have you missed…you'll just have to wait and find out won't you….(more evil laughter). So this is my twist version of "Hope, Faith & Trick" from season three…enjoy!

P.S. just realized that my seperation things weren't in the previous chapter to show scene change, sorry don't usually use this format, but I put them in this one, so it should be easier...or not, cause it didn't show

Chapter Two: Never For No Reason

INTRODUCTION

It hadn't taken long for things to unravel within the Scooby gang once Faith and Kennedy arrived, things went back to the way it was before; lots of demon attacks, vampire attacks, and other random activities. Of course their were some more extreme times, like when Faith accidentally almost staked a vampire that turned out to be Buffy's boyfriend. The blonde slayer had neglected to mention the fact that she was dating this guy, named Angel, because she didn't trust Faith enough to tell her. Yeah they had grown to be able to deal with each other, but after patrolling with the brunette a couple of times Buffy couldn't help but think that she wasn't stable. Then there was the fact that she felt a little weird around Faith, and that she had started to think of the other slayer at the most random moments; when she was eating a popsicle, or even taking a shower…that only happened once, so she didn't want to get to close to the girl. Even when they went out patrolling, she'd always suggest that they separate to cover more territory.

Another time was when Xander decided to take revenge on Cordelia by asking a witch to cast a love spell…this time the problem was Kennedy. The girl was a very skilled fighter to be so young…and not a slayer, and lets just say she could also fire two guns at once. Luckily, no one was hurt, other then Xander who she beat up afterwards, literally.

They had gone through a lot, all of them becoming good friends. Faith and Kennedy enrolled, Faith dropped out, though it was her senior year, but Kennedy stayed in school. She might not of done all of her work because she was too busy flirting, skipping, or getting laid, but she was still enrolled, unlike her sister.

After two vampires named Drusilla and Spike showed up, things only got worse. Kennedy was almost killed by the psychotic babbling woman, and Faith, against her better judgment, saved Angel from being killed. It wasn't that she cared whether the guy lived or died, cause she really didn't like him, she just couldn't sit back and watch Drusilla try to kill her sister and get her powers back.

The next couple of weeks were a little weird, some guy, that was really a robot tried to get with Buffy's mom, then there was an egg problem. All the while, Kennedy and Faith had been talking about leaving Sunnydale, not as in running away, but to maybe give it another shot with their parents. It was hard, especially for Kennedy who had grown so close to Willow, not so close that she tried to steal the red head from Oz but close enough to where it was hard to leave her behind. Eventually, the two of them decided to leave and try to put their lives back together at home.

For the first couple of weeks after they left, they had all kept in touch, but then the phone calls slowed down. Buffy was too busy with slaying, Angel, Spike, Drusilla, and other things to really keep up with the other slayer, and talking to her on the phone was always awkward anyways. It wasn't like they talked much when they were around each other, unless insulting counts as talking, so they both just let themselves become distant to deal with their own lives. Kennedy however, did as much as she could to keep in touch with Willow. The red head's mom got tired of all the long distance charges, and Kennedy's Dad wouldn't pay for them even if he had way more then enough money, so they resulted in writing each other as much as possible, but it definitely wasn't the same.

More dramatic things started happening in Sunnydale that pushed the gang even further into their own lives, and pushing the two girls that had come to their town for a while away. But things have a way of happening…destiny always works its own web.

ONE YEAR LATER…

Willow stood at the edge of the stairs staring across the street, "I'm giddy," she said with a smile, her feet teetering on the edge of a step.

Oz stood next to her, "oh I like you giddy. Always have," he just stood there watching her nervously look at the students that were already off campus, "Will-"

"It's the freedom. As seniors, we can go off campus now for lunch. It'll no longer be filed under skipping or delinquent teenager…it's legal."

"Unlike that sweater," Cordelia said as her and Xander approached, "that sweater isn't very law friendly."

The red head looked down at her blue sweater, "what's wrong with my sweater?" she asked with a frown, "it's very friendly, what law does it go against…oh it must be the snobby bit-" she stopped herself from cursing. It had been so long since she had said anything like that, she had only done it when Kennedy had been around, a habit she had adopted out of nowhere and against her will. There'd be times when they would be hanging out and the girl would just dare her to say a 'bad word', and eventually she would give in.

Xander looked at his friend who was staring into space, "are we gonna eat? 'Cause I'm hungry."

Snapping back into reality, and back into the conversation she was having before the almost curse, "oh, it's also a big step forward, a senior moment, one that has to be savored. You can't just rush into this you know…" Oz and Xander grabbed her arms and started to pull her across the street, "no, I can't," she said as she tried to break free from their hold.

"You can," Xander said.

"See, you are," Oz added.

Willow still tried to break free, "what if they change the rule without telling me? What if they're just waiting for me on the other side with their guns and pepper spray?"

"Hopefully not with guns," Xander said as he remembered the last time he had seen a gun. It had been after the whole love spell incident, and Kennedy was hitting him with one, "I don't like guns."

Once they were fully across the street, they released the red head, "breath," they said at the same time."

"This is good," she says nodding, "we're seniors," some random kid walked in front of her, and keeping with her bold statement she stopped him, "hey, I'm walking here," the boy looked at her like she was crazy, "sorry," she said embarrassed.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "oh god….how did end up here?"

"Well there's the little fact that we're dating," Xander said as he kissed the girl's cheek and intertwined their fingers, "you know you love us…we're the coolest people you know," after giving his girlfriend a teasing smile, he turned and spotted Buffy, "hey there's Buff, and she brought food," he let go of Cordelia's hand without a second thought and went over to Buffy.

Willow stopped walking, making Oz stop with her, "remember we can't be all cuddly when we're with Buffy."

He nodded, "what about sexy looks…can I give you sexy looks?"

She blushed, "only if I can give some too," she realized that they were about to kiss and took a large step back, "ahh, no…I just said no cuddliness. You can't sit by me either…or stand."

"Fine…can I still give you sexy looks?"

They went over and sat down with the rest of the gang, Willow making sure that her and Oz were far away from each other. Things had been going so well with them lately, and she couldn't help but feel all bubbly when he was around, but when the slayer was there she knew it was best to hold off on their habitual kissing out of nowhere, or going into their own little world.

"So what'd you bring?" she asked as Buffy pulled a sandwich from a picnic basket, "is it yummy?"

Buffy smiled, "it's my own recipe," the red head frowned, "my mom made them."

Willow smiled, "okay," she took the sandwich happily, "oh look there's Scott," Scott was a boy that had had a crush on Buffy for a while, but she had always been 'unavailable', "why don't you go talk to him, and do that thing with your mouth that guys like," Buffy's eyes flew open and she realized what she had just said, "oh no, not that I meant that half smile thing you do not…"

"It's okay Will, I get the point," Buffy looked over at Scott, who was staring at her, and smiled, "he is kinda cute," Cordelia laughed, "hey, he is, I don't insult your taste in boys."

"That's because I don't date boys, I date men," she looked at Xander who had food on his face, "usually."

"Yeah well, I'm just not ready. Not with everything that's happened. Then there's the fact that I'm still suspended from school."

They all nodded, "yeah."

"But then again," the red head said suddenly making her friends jump, but she didn't notice, "Faith got in, and her record was much worse…she got into more fights then you, and she brought weapons to school which she threatened to use on some of the teachers."

"She didn't burn anything down though," Cordelia said laughing slightly. The group stared at her, "what she didn't…I mean she was crazy but she didn't set anything on fire."

Buffy knew that there was a chance that Snider wouldn't let her come back, but she didn't want to dwell on that, "how's Kennedy doing?" she asked turning to Willow, "she written you lately?"

"No actually, I haven't gotten anything from her in a while…" she said sadly, but she didn't want to seem too sad, "you talked to Faith?"

"Nope, I haven't talked to her since before…" they all knew what she was going to say, that she hadn't talked to the other slayer since before the whole killing Angel thing, so she knew she didn't have to go on, "I wonder what they've been up to…I hope life's been better for them then it's been for me."

"Faith!" Kennedy yelled as she ran through her families mansion, "Faith you better be here," she hadn't seen her older sister all day, and she was beginning to worry. It wasn't like her to just wonder off…okay it was, but she'd usually give a heads up or something. Today she was just gone, Kennedy just assumed she went shopping or something, but then the slayer never came back, "Faith!"

"She's not here," it was their father. He was drunk as usual, and having a hard time walking down the stairs without stumbling, "the house is falling apart."

She sighed and went to help him, "no it's not dad…it cost to much money to fall apart out of nowhere," she said sarcastically.

"You know what I meant…you're never around anymore, your sister is having a breakdown, and I'm…well I'm a drunk," he laughed, "that's sort of ironic isn't it…Faith used to be the drunk, and I used to be the big spender, we've swapped."

"No," Kennedy helped her Father into his room and then helped him get in bed, "she still drinks too…now she just buys more expensive alcohol," it was sad that they were amused by making jokes about their dysfunctional family, but they couldn't help but laugh, "goodnight Dad," she said as she kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight Kenny," the man said as he drifted off into sleep.

Now that her dad was in bed, Kennedy went back to looking for her sister. She ran up the stairs and barged into the girls room, knowing full well that if Faith was there she'd probably end up missing a limb, but there was no yelling; there was no pounding; and there was no smell of alcohol. The room was empty. Slowly, she walked in, a little taken back by the fact that some of her sisters stuff seemed to be missing. Then she spotted a note on the floor, "hey Junior, went for a little trip. Might be gone for a while. Don't get killed while I'm gone," she folded the letter, "well that's great…but it's not like I don't know where you are big sis," as she figured out the only possible place her sister would go to, Kennedy went to her room and started to gather some of her belongings, "what are you running away from now?"

Buffy and Joyce sat in front of the principal's desk, watching him as he stared out his window.

"It has come to my attention that, against my excellent advice, the school board has decided to let students with…sketchy pasts, stay within our schools. I on the other hand will not let things go so easily," she turned and looked at the blonde girl, "there will be a couple of things you'll have to do to stay at my school, starting with repeating your junior year."

"What?" Buffy looked at the small man angrily, "you can't do that," she looked to her mom, "he can't do that."

Joyce put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, "Mr. Snider," she said nicely, "I talked to the school board about my daughter's…situation, and they've said nothing about her repeating her eleventh grade year."

"Yes well, to be a senior, you have to pass junior classes," he said smugly, "now unless your daughter can go test for these failed classes, due to her extreme lack of appearance last year," his eyes widened and the blonde girl sunk down in her chair, "unless she can test out of these classes, she's stuck being a Junior."

"I'm sorry, where did you get these rules from?" Joyce asked angrily.

He smiled, "this is my school Ms. Summers, what I say goes. And since I have to give this…criminal a chance here, I'm going to make it as easy as possible for her to fail," both of the blondes stared at him, "I had actually considered giving her a break, but then one of our former delinquent students came to my office wondering if your daughter was attending this school, and I changed my mind."

Buffy grabbed the letter opener off the man's desk in reflex to her anger, but she put it down when she saw the fear in his eyes, then she pat it as if it were an animal, "sorry."

Joyce rolled her eyes, "how does a former student decide how the rest of my daughters high school carrier will go?"

"Like I said, my school my rules…you can start taking those tests tomorrow," the two of them got up, "and tell your friend to stay off my campus."

"My friend? I don't even know who you're talking about. None of my friends get into trouble, they're all smart…or geeky, conceited, and musiciany but they're not delinquents," she paused and thought for a minute, "unless…no that's not possible," she shook the thought out of her head, "guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow Snider, bet you missed me didn't ya?"

"Goodbye Ms. Summers," he said coldly as they left the room.

It was yet another night at The Bronze for the gang, all of them glad that they were able to go and hang out after such a long day. It was strange being a senior, at least for those who hadn't been one before; Willow was having anxiety attacks about universities she might want to attend; Xander was worried that he'd have to live with his parents forever; Cordelia was afraid that Sunnydale was going to be the highlight of her life; and Buffy wondered if she would even make it out of high school; Oz was the only one that wasn't worried.

Buffy walked over to Oz and Willow, who were making out at the time, with drinks in her hand, "I'd rather see the puppy dog eyes then this…" they kept going, "don't let me interrupt," finally they pulled away from each other and she sat down across from them, "you wouldn't believe who I thought went and saw Snider today."

Xander and Cordelia walked over to them, "why do I suddenly feel nauseous?"

Willow frowned, "oh what, is this another thing that goes against the snobby bit-" everyone looked at her, "shit," she covered her mouth, shocked that she had said a 'bad word', all of her friends just stared, making her feel embarrassed. Then she felt another word coming, it was worse then the others, one Kennedy couldn't even get her to say, "fuck."

"Willow!" Buffy said shocked, "what's going on with you?"

"I don't know," the witch said as she moved her hand from her mouth cautiously, hoping that nothing else would come out.

Oz used the arm that was wrapped around the red head to pull her closer, "maybe Kennedy's thinking of you…or you're thinking of her."

"What a freak," Cordelia said as she sat down, "I wasn't even talking about you guys, I was talking about that disco dancing freak over there with that sluty girl," they all tried to spot who she was talking about, but the crowd was a little larger then it usually was, only letting them see the back of the two dancers, "when's the last time you think he danced…the seventies are so over."

Buffy squinted, she could see the guy better then the girl, and he definitely looked like he was from a different time, "I think that is the last time he has boogied," she laughed, "boogied…wow I've been hanging out with Willow too much."

"Hey," Willow said pretending to be hurt.

Oz smiled, "I like the word boogied…it's sort of out there, possibly the best out there word you can use. Also in different forms such as boogie, and boogies all of which are usable…it's quite a word."

"Okay, now you are making me nauseous," Cordelia said pretending to gag, "yuck."

Buffy turned back to the crowd to see the two dancers who had caught their attention heading for the door, "I think we should check it out," she got up from her chair almost bumping into someone, "oh sorry," she said nicely, then she looked up and realized who it was, "Scott?"

"Oh look it's Scott," Willow said nervously, "what a coincidence."

The boy smiled, "yeah well, uh you said that she'd be here, so I came…anyways," he saw the read head sink down in her seat, and laughed, "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to dance, you know…with me?"

She looked over at the door, "um, I'm actually on my way out for some air."

His smile faded, "well, maybe when you come back?"

"Maybe," they smiled at each other and then he walked away. Once she knew that he was back with his friends she headed out the door, the rest of the gang at her heels.

"They're probably just making out," Cordelia said as she ran out too, then they heard a crashing noise.

Willow jumped, "that's not what making out sounds like…unless I'm doing it wrong," they all ran in the direction of the noise, each of them hoping that they weren't too late.

Buffy froze as she noticed that it was the vampire that was getting beat up, not the girl that had gone out with him. All she could manage to see was him being hit, and the girl's hair flying around everywhere as she hit and kicked him. It wasn't until the girl reached to grab the stake in her hand that she knew who it was.

Oz frowned, "does she look familiar to you?" he asked leaning over towards Willow.

"Hey, can I borrow this for a sec?" she staked the vampire quickly and then handed the stake back over to the blonde, "thanks B."

"So you're just back in town?" Buffy asked as she stared at the other slayer. Since the moment she arrived, Faith had become the center of the conversation, she had been telling stories about all the adventures she had been on since she left Sunnydale, things like running around naked and hugging priests, which Xander seemed enjoy, and then there was something about alligators but Buffy stopped that before it even began.

Faith grinned, "can't I just come and visit?"

"No," Buffy said simply. Over the little time they had spent together, Buffy had learned that there was always a reason for Faith going to any town she popped up in, Sunnydale was no exception. She had, after all, come once so they could fight each other.

Willow looked at her best friend, "gosh you guys still can't get along?"

"Yeah, Buff, why can't you just give her a break," Xander added.

"That's not what Willow said," Cordelia sniped, she had noticed the way that her boyfriend had been staring at the scanky slayer all night, and she didn't like it, "why are you here?"

"Wow, someone's a little possessive," the brunette slayer said, "I just needed a break from everything, and where better to go then to Sunny-D," she winked at the other slayer, "don't act like you didn't miss me B."

Frustrated, Buffy just sat back in her chair, looking away from her friends, "I did not."

Oz looked at the blonde, "that was very convincing."

Xander turned his attention back to Faith, "does that mean you're gonna finish the alligator story?"

"Maybe later," Faith said smiling, "what have you guys been up to?"

"Nothing much," Willow said, she didn't want to get into the whole Angel thing, not because she didn't want to but because she knew her best friend wasn't ready to. When they had been in the library earlier, Giles had tried to ask her about it to do a binding spell on Acathla, the reasoning behind the chaos of that night, but she wouldn't really open up about it. This was the perfect time, she thought, to ask about Kennedy who had been out of sight the whole night, "where's Kennedy?" she asked trying not to sound too interested, but she couldn't help but miss the girl, even if she was a pain in the ass.

Faith just froze, making Buffy sit up once again, there was something she wasn't saying and the blonde knew it, "where is Kennedy Faith? I thought she'd be showing up by now with some info about the real reason you're here. What is it this time…it can't be me."

"No, Kenn stayed home…she didn't want to miss school or anything," she looked at Willow, "you talked to her much lately?"

Willow shrugged, "not really…is she okay?"

She forced a smile on her face, "yeah, why wouldn't she be…she's five by five. Just wanted to know if she was keeping up with you guys," she paused for a second, "oh man, after that slay, and that thing I just ate I'm feelin kind of…" she looked at Buffy, "well you know."

"What…oh," she rolled her eyes, "you should go take care of that," Buffy said as she stood up.

"Oh I will," Faith said seductively, "there's this guy that's been eyeing me all night," she waved for him to come over to them, "hey, what's your name?"

He smiled, "Scott."

Buffy gasped, 'hey, that's my Scott,' she thought to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. As usual Faith was becoming the center of attention, and she was being pushed aside. She tried to just walk away without being seen but the other slayer stopped her before she could make an exit.

"Hey B, you mind if I meet up with you and Giles tomorrow…I just want to know if there's anything I can take care of while I'm here…something that you might be having trouble with."

"Well, unless you're going to slay yourself, I'm doing great actually," she said trying to leave as soon as she could, "you don't need my permission to see Giles."

Faith shrugged, "just thought I'd ask, don't want to steel everything from you…don't think that I don't notice these things, it's not like it's the first time we've met or anything. I'm not here to steal your friends, I'm leaving in a couple of days, just thought I'd have a little fun in the mean time," the other girl remained silent, making her a little nervous, "guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

Faith walked down the hall way towards the library knowing that Giles would be there. She wasn't really interested in helping the blonde slayer with anything, that's not why she had come to see the girl's watcher, it was to find out what they knew about some guys that were after her. Things like how close they were, and if she needed to leave right away. That was the only reason she had stopped in Sunnydale in the first place, wasn't it? "hey Giles, how's it going?"

The British man smiled, "things are quite well actually, how about you?"

"Oh you know, I'm five by five," she looked over at Buffy, Willow, and Xander who were sitting at the table, "what's up?"

"Nothing really," Willow said after she noticed that Buffy wasn't going to say anything.

"All is quiet in Sunnydale," Xander added, then he thought about it, "which is never a good sign…something must be going on."

Buffy stood up gathering a bunch of books as she did, "yeah, I've been wondering about the who silent nights thing too. I'm going patrolling tonight though, lat cause I promised mom I'd have dinner, but after that I'll be on it," she noticed that Willow was doing something with her head, and frowned, then she realized what it was, "oh Faith," she said, sounding like she didn't want to do it, and well she didn't, but she knew it was the 'right thing' to do, "why don't you come have dinner at my house. I'm sure my mom would love to see you."

"Sure, it'd be good to see Joyce again. You know Kenn always thought your mom was hot."

The blonde gagged, "that's disgusting, she's my mom…she's old."

"I think she has good taste," Xander mumbled, he looked up to see Buffy glaring at him, "said that out loud didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," pushing the subject aside she turned to Willow, "so I have this English thing next period that-"

"Cool," the red head said as she walked over to Faith, "you can hang out with us then until Buffy's finished."

Xander grinned, "definitely, and you can tell us that alligator story while we wander," they all walked out of the library, Faith starting her story as they did.

Buffy sighed, "I really hate her."

"I love your stories," Xander said as they walked down the hall, "they make me feel all warm inside."

"And in other places," Cordelia said as she approached the three of them, as she did Faith went over to get a drink of water, leaving her the perfect opportunity to say something to her boyfriend, "what's up with you and slayers? Do you want me to dress up and leather pants and try to stake you?"

He smiled, "please tell me that wasn't sarcasm," the girl punched him in the arm, "ow…I was kidding."

Buffy walked down the stairs, "no he wasn't," she smiled, "I just aced my exam…it was so much easier then I thought it would be, plus I had this really smart kid next to me and…" she noticed that all of her friends were staring at something, "you guys so aren't listening. What are you…" they were looking at Faith, who was flirting with Scott by the water fountain, "she has to ruin everything."

"They kinda look cute," Willow said absent mindedly, "maybe they should go out since you don't want him," she made a face, "not that he's like a piece of meet or anything, it's just you said you weren't ready and she's all…well she's you know Faith. Looks like you missed your chance B--uffy."

She walked over to the two talking and put her hand on Faith's arm, "oh man look at the time, we have somewhere to be don't we Faith."

"Yeah, sure," she smiled at the boy as she was being pulled away, "bye Scott," she said with a grin. At The Bronze the night before she had tried to get the guy to sleep with her, but he was one of those nice type of guys, the one that wanted to talk first, and since she had never 'had' one of those before, she decided that he might be worth the wait, "man I bet he's good in bed."

Buffy groaned, "why do I always have to put up with this stuff?"

Joyce put some food onto Faith's plate, a smile on her face, "wow it's such a surprise to see you again, how's the whole slaying thing going?" she asked nicely.

Buffy tried to get her mom's attention, but was being completely ignored, and so was her sister who was just staring at the brunette slayer angrily. It made Buffy happy to know that she wasn't the only one not happy to see Faith, but Dawn's was for a completely different reason. It was Faith that told some boy in Dawn's class that Dawn liked him, apparently that ruined the girl's life.

"Slaying's great as usual, but there's nothing like killing a vamp on hell mouth, it just gives it this extra oomph…you know?"

"Buffy always says that it's okay, just okay, why don't you get this excited?" she asked finally acknowledging her eldest daughter.

Dawn laughed, "maybe because she's not psychotic," her mom shot her a look, "may I be excused, since I'm not getting any food anyways," she lifted her empty plate, "thanks for that by the way, it's always so fun to watch your mother forget about you when you're in the same room with her. Especially when it's for some scanky-"

"Dawn, that's enough," the woman said angrily, "go to your room."

The girl got up, "gladly," she said as she walked out, "tell Kennedy I said hi," she said as she passed their guest of honor.

"Where is Kennedy?" Joyce asked.

"She didn't want to miss school."

Buffy just sat there, trying hard to read the other slayer, but it was always impossible for her to know what was going on with Faith, no matter what she did, there was never anyway that she knew if the girl was really lying or not. Thinking of all their history though, she always assumed that she was. Her mom asked her to come into the kitchen for a minute, "what's up mom?"

"Why are you and your sister acting this way?" the woman asked. She had noticed the tension in the room from the moment they all sat down, "do you have a problem with Faith?"

"Oh no, there's no problem. Everyone loves Faith, you love Faith, my friends love her, my watcher loves her, and did I mention the fact she loves them too? In fact she loves everything that I love," she looked into the dinning room to see Faith randomly grabbing food from different bowels and stuffing it into her mouth, "and right now, she's loving my dinner."

Joyce smiled, "just think of it this way, with her being here, you can take some time away from the whole slaying thing…I'm not saying permanently, or even everyday, just let her do a lot of the work," she hugged her daughter, "how long is she staying?"

"I don't know," she looked in the dinning room again, this time Faith was just sitting there staring into space. She looked different, not so much like a hard ass, more like a scared little girl, "but I don't think she's here to help," as much as she wished that the girl had come to help her, to see her even, she knew that it couldn't be true, "there's always a reason when she comes…usually a bad one."

"Haven't we been here before?" Faith asked as they walked down an alley.

"Yeah, but just because we've already looked doesn't mean they won't show up eventually," she walked slower, watching the other slayer move. She wasn't her usual bold walk into danger blindly type, "what's wrong with you?"

Faith stopped in her tracks, "what?"

"Why are you here?"

"What's your problem? I think you've been doing this for a little too long, now you're starting to see everyone as a threat…maybe you need some time off to clear your head. Get all that Angel stuff out of your system."

She hadn't expected her dead ex to be brought up, and even though she knew it was probably a defense mechanism the other slayer was using, she couldn't help but become even more angry for it being used at all, "what do you know about Angel?"

"Just the little fact that he went a little crazy and tried to kill everybody," she answered sarcastically.

"So you don't know anything then," Faith was taken back by the tone in her voice, which made Buffy want to push even further, "don't bring up my personal stuff to escape your problems…I've dealt with that with you once before, and I'm not gonna do it again. If you wanna go and let out all your anger, walk around lying to everyone, go to a different town…lie to other people, but don't you dare come and screw up my life."

"I didn't come here to screw up your life," the brunette slayer said sincerely.

"Then why did you come here, and don't tell me it was to just take some sort of vacation, I've seen right through that from the beginning…don't lie to me…you don't need to lie," she felt herself wanting to cry, her own emotions being pulled into it. Since she had gotten back, Giles had been trying to get her to talk about the whole Angel thing, to let some of it out, but all she could do was either give little bits or lie to herself and say that everything was fine, and as she looked at the other slayer, she knew that somehow in someway the girl was feeling the same, "you said you wouldn't run anymore Faith, but here you are…running."

Just as Faith was about to speak, about to tell Buffy why she was really there and everything that was going on, a group of vampires attacked. She killed one quickly, there were about four of them, and then went after another while Buffy fought two at once. The blonde slayer struggled, trying hard to keep up with both of the vampires, but the emotional state she was in was weighing her down. When she went to call Faith for help, as a vampire pinned her down, she looked to see that the other slayer was in the same situation. Her emotions were on high, instead of just staking the vampire, she was beating the hell out of it. She was fully captivated by the image of the brunette continuously hitting the vampire on the face, forgetting for a moment that she was in trouble herself, it wasn't until one of them whispered in her ear that she remembered.

"Faith," she called, "stake him and come help me," the other girl kept going, ignoring her completely. It was like she couldn't hear her, like she was in a different world; one that was dark and scary. Buffy found a way to get up and staked both of the vampires, she went and pulled Faith away from the one she had been pounding and staked it, "what the hell is wrong with you?" she asked.

Breathing heavily, Faith laughed, "I was doing my job," she said arrogantly.

"No, you were being stupid, and I could have been killed," Faith started to turn away but she grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back, "what happened to you?" she looked into the girls eyes, and saw a pain she had never seen before, it was stronger then the first time the girl had come and she revealed what happened to her watcher.

Seeing that Buffy was beginning to figure things out, Faith pulled away, "I thought you could handle yourself," she walked out of the alley without turning back.

"This just won't stop…all of it just builds," Buffy put her hands on her face, "why can't things be simple?"

"Giles, I'm telling you something is wrong with her," it was now the next morning and yet another school day, which Buffy was not in the mood for but Snider had her on a short leash so she had to go. She had been trying to convince her watcher all morning that Faith had lost her mind, but he just wouldn't listen.

"She's always been a little…crazy," he said as he shifted the books he was carrying to his other hand, "but she gets the job done."

Buffy frowned, "yeah but we could have died…she didn't even try to come and help me, she was to wrapped up in beating the crap out of one vampire."

"What did you say they looked like again?" he asked ignoring what the girl was hinting at, "anything special about them?" they entered the library and he went behind the counter, "weapons, language, jewelry?"

She knew what he was doing, that he wasn't trying to even hear her out when it come to Faith, none of her friends had. They all just acted like she was crazy, but none of them knew the other slayer like she did, "if you count looking like a hobo special, then yes, they were very special," she said deciding that she was just going to have to deal with Faith on her own, "but one of them whispered something to me…something about taquitos…it sort of made me hungry when I thought about it later. Greedy Faith ate all my dinner, she's such a-"

"Kakistos?" the man blurted.

"Um, does it taste good?" she asked confused by what the man randomly said.

He sighed, "it's not food," he heard her sigh, "god you slayers…anyways, Kakistos is what the vampire that attacked you said. He's a very old vampire, so old that his hands and feet are cloven," he went into his office to find a book.

"Is that bad?" she asked.

"Yes, very bad. It explains these weird disappearances I read about in the paper today, there's been people vanishing off the face of the earth for the last couple of days…I think Kakistos might behind it, it would make sense since he's the only new arrival in Sunnydale right now," he said as he looked through his book.

"Him and one more person that happened to show up a couple of days ago…you know my most favorite person in the world? Looks a little scanky?"

"Buffy, that could just be a coincidence," he closed the book and looked at her, "don't you think you're being a little paranoid?"

She looked down, "no I'm being a lot paranoid, and with good reason."

Seeing that she was fixed on the idea that Faith had something to do with the new evil in town, Giles decided to just give in and consider it, "it is a little suspicious," something clicked within his mind, "you know I do believe it was Kakistos that killed her and Kennedy's watcher."

"That was a year ago though, we have to be missing something…I'll just have to pay her a visit at the slum motel," she walked out of the library in a hurry, this time she wasn't going to let the girl leave until she told her everything, even if it took a little force.

Faith watched Buffy storm out of the library, finally having what she needed, Kakistos was there and he was out for blood; her blood. She hadn't expected for him to catch up that soon, but he had, and now it was time to go. After Buffy was further down the hall, she started to walk to, but then she saw Scott approach the blonde slayer and stopped. There were other ways that she could get out of the school without being seen, but something held her still. She moved over slightly so she wasn't standing in the middle of the hall and watched them closely. The first thing she noticed was how tense Buffy was, beyond tense. They both laughed at something the boy said, "she relaxed a little", Faith thought as she continued to watch. She felt a pain in her heart, one that she had never felt before, as Scott pulled out a box from his pocket. It wasn't an engagement ring, she knew that for sure. Yeah he liked Buffy, which is why he decided to stop talking to her when she once again tried to get him to sleep with her, and he had only started talking to Faith to make the blonde jealous, but he didn't care enough to ask her to marry him.

She squint her eyes, trying hard to catch just a glimpse, but suddenly Buffy freaked out. Whatever was in the box hit the floor, and Buffy was backing away saying something about not being able to do something. Faith wanted to go over there, to make sure the girl was okay, but just as she went to move Giles walked by her and went to the girl's aid so she moved even closer to the wall. Scott just left, he didn't try to pick up what was in the box, or see what was wrong with Buffy he just ran. Then, when Giles tried to help her, she wouldn't let him, she walked away instead, leaving the man confused. After a moment he walked off and Faith made her way to what was in the box, it was a ring, not an engagement ring, but still a ring. One that looked oddly familiar, but she had no time to figure it out she had to get out of town, so she just put it in her pocket and took off.

It wasn't until night time that Buffy made her way to the motel Faith was staying at, she had went to be by herself after the whole Scott thing so she would be able to fully handle the crazed slayer. It had taken longer then she thought it would, to pull it back together, and she so she thought that she'd only go to the motel to find that Faith would have already left, but to her surprise she was still there.

"Hey Faith," she said as she walked in, noticing the bags of clothes on the bed as she did, "going somewhere?"

She had meant to be gone before the other slayer had arrived, but there was trouble with the motel manager, and because she didn't want any cops trailing her, she had to deal with him and find a way to get some cash, "time to go, the road calls."

"Hmm," she sat on the bed where her and Fait were face to face, "I thought maybe you were leaving because of Kakistos."

"Look, I don't have time for this B, I gotta get out of here," she said panicking, moving even faster to get the hell out of there, "I need to get out of here."

There was something about the way the girl said that that made Buffy feel like it was true, that she didn't only want to leave, but she needed to leave, but the question was why? "what's going on Faith, what aren't you telling me?…I know he killed your watcher."

She stopped moving for a second and then kept packing, "that was a long time ago."

"That's what I thought too, but that only means that I'm missing something, what is it?"

"Fine," she said angrily as she picked up one of the bags, "you wanna know what's going on? I being my usual self, couldn't let him off the hook for killing-" it was always so hard for her to say the woman's name, and she knew that wasn't going to change, "I couldn't let him get away with it, so when me and Kenn went home, I tracked him down and snuck out to get back at him. The things that he did to her…in front of me and Kennedy…I just couldn't let him get away with it."

There was that emotion again, the one that she had seen in the woman's eyes as she saw that pain that she had seen when they were out patrolling, "you went alone?"

"Yeah," she sat down, "or so I thought. Turns out my mom had been sick of me sneaking out and wanted to see what I was up to, and after I fucked up Kakistos eye he was about to kill me…like he really was about to put me out of my misery, and out of nowhere my mom pops up…and he-he…"

Now she knew, she knew what was going on, why the slayer was once again on the run, and why she had been acting so weird, "Faith…"

"I got away," Faith said cutting the girl off and continuing what she was saying, she needed to get it all out, "somehow I got away, and I ran home. I just went to my room, and I cried…I cried for so long, then his guys showed up to take me out, they went after Kennedy, she barely got out of it alive," a tear fell and she wiped it away, "I told her everything…she was the one strong enough to go get Mom's body…guess I'm not such a hard ass after all," she said slightly laughing.

"You never were," Buffy pulled the girl in for a hug, "he didn't stop after you…that's why you left; to protect Kennedy and your father from getting killed," she squeezed the girl tightly, knowing that she wasn't expecting it, but eventually the squeeze was returned, "Faith you are one of the strongest people I've ever met."

At that moment a hand burst through the door making the both of them jump, they both knew who it was as soon as they saw his clove hand reaching through the door. Faith began to panic, once again she was in danger of being killed, and once again she had pulled someone into it with her.

Buffy looked at the girl, "come on we have to get out of here," she grabbed her by the hand and pulled her off the bed and then made her jump through a window, "go, go, go," next she jumped through and once again she had to pull Faith along. They ran through this alley way and once she thought they were far enough, they stopped.

"I ran," Faith mumbled, "I left them…both of them."

"Hey you did what-" she looked around and realized that they were in a closed space, dead bodies on the floor, "they wanted us to come here."

Once again Faith began to panic, this time she just fell to the floor and started crying as Kakistos and his gang busted through the walls. She stood up and killed off a couple of his lackey's and then sunk back down when Kakistos approached her.

"Finally, I'll have my revenge, I've been looking for you for a long time Faith," he said smiling, just when he was about to grab her Buffy put a stake in his chest, one that he just pulled out, "you're gonna need a bigger stake."

"I can take care of that," out of nowhere, a large wooden pole went through the vampire's body, making him turn to dust, "the bigger they are the more dusty."

Faith stood up and watched the girl dust herself off, "Kennedy?"

Kennedy smiled warmly at her sister, "you didn't think you could get rid of me that easy did ya," her sister lunged at her, hugging her so tightly that she couldn't breath, "I'm not a slayer asshole," Faith let her go and then hit her on the shoulder, "what was that for?" she asked rubbing her hurt arm.

"For coming after me, if something would of happened to you-"

"Well it didn't," she said cutting the girl off, she looked around and spotted Buffy watching them from afar, "hey B, you miss me?"

"Great now there's two of you," she said to Faith as she walked by, "you guys need somewhere to stay?"

"You offering?" Kennedy asked.

Buffy laughed, "after the last time you two stayed with me? Not a chance in hell, you're gonna stay with Giles."

Kennedy smirked, "that's too bad, I was really looking forward to seeing Joyce again."

"Hey that's Ms. Summers to you," Buffy said making a face of disgust.

"That will only make it more exciting for her," Faith said as she wrapped her arm around her little sister, truly glad to see her again, she hadn't been sure that she would.

Buffy gagged, "that's just gross," she turned to the two of them, "you standing outside for a moment when we get there," they frowned at the same time making her laugh, "there's something I have to tell Giles," she turned back around and smiled, finally ready to tell her watcher what had happened. Then, as she reached into her pocket, she felt the ring that that symbolized everything she had had with Angel, "I have to make another stop too."

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Well that's it! I know there wasn't a lot of Kennedy, and no Kennedy/Willow stuff, but I really need to set some stuff up that will cause some issues for the two sisters later on. Promise there will be lots of Kennedy in the next one. Hope you guys remembered this episode, the real version anyways, cause I'm going to keep the whole Angel being alive at the end thing. And Buffy does tell Giles everything, and Willow too…about how the spell worked. Not sure if the next chapter is going to be an episode or me just making something up to happen between episodes but it'll be something that will keep it on the same track of season three…with a couple of changes. Thanks for reading!!!-ThomThom


	3. Animalistic, That Thing

-1Alright, here is yet another chapter of this story. A little sooner then I thought I would post it, but I'm sure there is no complaints…unless you're one of those people that are really busy and freak out when you already have a shit load of things to do and then a chapter is added to the fic you're reading and you freak out cause now there's more added to your busy day…obviously I'm one of those people, but it's not really a complaint when I freak it just means I have to cram. Anyways this is the next chapter, it will be following the episode that came after 'Faith, Hope & Trick' called 'Beauty and The Beasts' which was so ironic once I re-watched the ep cause it totally fit. So yeah, this is my little twist on it…some stuff from ep will be used which means it is not mine (that's my disclaimer), hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter Four: Animalistic / That Thing

Willow walked through the library, book in hand, it was a full moon so she was on Oz duty, "one night after supper, the lead dog turned up a snowshoe rabbit. The dog lay down low to the race, his body flashing forward, leap by leap. He was sounding the deeps of his nature and the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the wombs of time. The rabbit," the wolf jumped at the caged, gripping it tightly with its claws, making her jump, "Okay. Uh, maybe we should try a less stimulating passage," she said nervously.

"Private Xander reporting for Oz watch," he walked in with many items in hand, yawning widely.

Relieved, the red head smiled, "Xander! Oh, good."

"What ya reading?" he asked not really waiting for the answer, instead he took from her hands, "Call of The Wild," he frowned, "sounds familiar."

She started over to the table to get her things together, pulling her friend with her, "it'll help you stay awake…and pass English. Just skip the parts about," she leaned closer to him trying to keep the wolf from hearing, "rabbits," once again, Oz jumped on the cage, growling as he did.

Xander jumped and then looked at the red head confused, "rabbis?"

Ignoring her friends mishearing, she started to put her things in a bag, "it makes him go a little crazy," once she packed up everything, she looked at Xander seriously, "now I'm leaving the tranquilizer, but try not to touch it unless you really need to…considering the last time you picked up and shot yourself, I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Right, no playing with the sleepy toy. So Buffy and Faith are out patrolling together again," he brought up randomly, it had been bothering him for a while now, the two of them seeming so chummy, but he had never had the opportunity to bring it up, "doesn't them being so close fall on the strange side?"

"Hmm, I guess so…but then again no," he made a face, "they have that thing," she said as she put her backpack on.

He nodded, "oh, that thing…like the thing you have with Kennedy?"

Oz jumped at the cage again, making the both of them both jump. She frowned at the wolf, "there's no thing with me and Kennedy…we're thing free," she walked past the cage, "we'll be talking about that later mister," she whispered, then she walked out, "bye Xander!"

"Bye Will," when the red head was out of sight, and there was no sign of her coming back, he looked at the book in his hands, "hello pillow…se ya in the morning Oz."

BR BR BR 

Buffy and Faith walked through the graveyard, keeping their eyes out for any sign of trouble. They had been patrolling together every night since the brunette slayer had returned, and it had become more like an outing then a job they were destined to have. Most of the time they just talked, or argued, and when a vampire or demon would pop up they'd still keep their conversation going while they were slaying. It had taken a little bit of time for Faith to get back into the slaying, and talking, mode after the whole Kakistos thing, but because Buffy was always around bothering her about it, she eventually cracked.

"You told Red about Kenn transferring yet?" she asked, excited by the thought of her sister coming back. After the whole thing with Kakistos, the girl decided to head back home to make sure their dad was set before she just ran off like and disappeared like Faith had.

Buffy looked at the other slayer guiltily, "Nope."

Faith shot her a look, she knew that the red head would want to have a little warning, not that she wouldn't be happy, she just wasn't sure about Oz, "why not Buffy?"

When the girl said her name fully, she knew that she was in 'trouble', "you know," she said simply, thinking Faith would understand, but by the look she was receiving she figured she didn't, "they have that thing," the girl still seemed confused, "that thing where when they're together they…forget it. Plus, I figure I have some time since she went home to check on your dad, without even seeing Willow," she said emphasizing her best friend's name, "there's no rush."

"She'll be here in a day," Faith said giving the blonde a look.

"Exactly what I just said, I have time."

"You've been too busy getting busy with Scott to have time for stuff like that," Faith said teasingly. Buffy hit her playfully, "you get that down low tickle when you're with him don't you?" it wasn't that she really wanted to know, she just liked messing with the girl, even if sometimes she felt herself getting angry when they talked about Scott.

She blushed, "sure. He's nice…wait how low?"

"You tell me," she replied seductively.

She hit the other slayer again, and then kept walking, "I don't know…he's a really nice guy, and normal, I can't forget that part…and he's funny."

Faith noticed the smile on the girl's face, and that dreamy look in her eyes, even the way she talked about him was different then her normal voice, it was all gleeful, putting her into a different world. As usual, Faith felt that pinch of jealousy, "and quite a muffin," she said sarcastically.

"The best part though," she ignored the change in Faith's tone, thinking that maybe she had just imagined it, "is that he doesn't seem to be any sort of hell beast."

"All men are beasts B," she leaned over batting her eyes, "even the nice funny ones," she said mocking what the other slayer said earlier.

Buffy pushed her, "you would know… someone had to be nice out of all the guys you've slept with, which was like what…half the population."

"Almost got your boy too," she said laughing as she was hit again, "I was kidding…sort of," she took off running before she could get again, her laughter filling the cemetery.

Buffy took off after her, "you are so gonna pay for that."

BR BR BR 

"I don't think all men are beasts," Willow said as her, Oz, and Buffy walked up the stairs, "Faith just has bad taste…minus Scott of course cause that would mean you have bad taste."

"Hey Buffy," Scott called as he picked up his pace to go over to where she was, "that's pretty much why I stopped you; to say hey."

"Okay, hey."

Oz saw some people he knew approaching, "Howdy Debbie and Pete," he said joining the group of odd greetings, "how's it going?"

The blonde girl stood gripping the flowers in her hand to make sure they were being noticed, "I'm doing great," she said happily.

"Those are pretty," Buffy said knowing why the girl was holding them so tight, "they from you?" she asked the boy standing next the smiling girl.

Pete laughed as he wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, "they better be," he looked over to Scott, "I bet Scott here doesn't bring you anything."

"We're not to flowers yet…unless you want flowers," he looked at Buffy, "do you want flowers."

"I'm on the same level as you, we're not there yet," they smiled at each other, staring into each other's eyes, and she almost forgot what she was supposed to tell Willow. After hearing Faith complain about it when they were heading back to Giles's, she had decided to go ahead and give her friend a heads up, "oh hey Will, I have something to tell you," she moved to stand closer to her, "it's about Kennedy, she's-"

Oz heard Kennedy's name and cut the slayer off, "hey don't you have that counselor thing right now? Don't think Snider likes it when you're tardy."

"Mr. Platt?" Debbie asked, wondering if it was the same school councilor she thought it was, "I had to see him last year--complete nut case."

"He's right," Willow said ignoring Debbie's comment, she didn't want her friend to risk being kicked out of school, even if she knew that wasn't why Oz was really bringing it up, "you should go, we can talk about Kennedy later," as Buffy left, Scott left as well, then Debbie and Pete followed. Once they were alone, she turned to her boyfriend with a serious look, "what's going on with you?"

"What do ya mean?" he asked casually.

She sighed, "you've been acting weird lately whenever someone even mentions Kennedy's name."

He pretended to think about it, "like when?"

"Oh I don't know, just now. Then there was that whole thing at the bronze when I was acting a little weird…you brought her up," she put his hands in hers, "what's going on Oz?"

"I-" he looked down, "I don't know, she just always seems to be here, you know? Then there's that letter…"

She frowned hoping he wasn't talking about the letter she thought he was, "what letter?"

"The one that I accidentally read, it had fallen out of your book one day, and when I reached down and picked it up a line just caught my eye….the one saying that she felt something for you, something she was ashamed to feel because you were just friends," she looked away from him, "what about the letter Willow?"

It was the letter that she had thought it was, the one that she found in a different spot then she had put it, "there's nothing to say, it doesn't matter to me…I love you, no one else," she looked up and smiled weakly, "besides, she's not even here so there's no reason to worry about it…it being her feeling cause I don't have any feelings for her at least not like that-" she was cut off by him kissing her, "we good?"

He smiled feeling a little stupid about everything he had just said and done, "always."

BR BR BR 

Buffy walked into the councilor's office, only to see the back of the man as he sat in a chair, "two o'clock, Buffy Summers," he said without turning around.

She closed the door and walked over to his desk, "look I know that I have to get an A in sanity from you and all, but I really don't want to talk. Not about my life or my friends, not even about my family which is strangely the most normal part of my life," she noticed smoke coming from a cigarette in the man's hand, "are you smoking?"

He put it out and turned to look at her, he was a black man, young in age, "no I'm not smoking," he said as he pulled out a can of air freshener and sprayed it, "what you smell is called…Summer Day, ironic don't you think?"

"Sure," she laughed uneasily, thinking the man was a little crazy, and then sat down, "so since we know what's off limits, we can get to my A getting…where do we start?"

"Well," he stood up and moved to sit on the corner of his desk, "first off, we start with letting you know that you don't exactly make the rules…I wish you did, cause I really don't want to have to listen to you talk just as much as you don't want to talk, but we have to talk, and we have to start with why you ran away. We know it wasn't family, and that you have friends…is there anything else?"

Seeing that there was no way to escape talking to the man, she decided to just go ahead and give him a little information, "I was just having a hard time…there was a guy," images of her stabbing Angel flashed in front of her, "he was my--I loved him."

"But he wasn't who you thought he was?" the man said as he watched the girl start to look sad, "that why you left? Did he do something--?"

She was about to say something, to say that he did hurt her, but someone barged into the room.

"This the little girls room?"

Buffy turned around quickly, recognizing that voice, "Faith?"

"Faith," the man said standing up from his desk, he went over and gave the girl a quick hug, "you know you're not aloud on school property right?" he asked with a smile.

"You gonna kick me off?" the slayer asked.

"No," the man said simply.

"Then everything's five by five."

"You two no each other?" Buffy asked confused by the two's interaction, and annoyed by the other slayer's typical saying.

Faith sat down in the chair next to Buffy's, "oh yeah, we go way back. Snider sent me here after I got into a fight with that one chick, what was her name…doesn't matter," she looked away from the other slayer, and turned back to Mr. Platt, "smells like someone's been smoking in here…can I bum one?"

The blonde slayer laughed, shocked that the girl had even asked that question, but when she saw that the man was actually handing her one, she stopped. She pulled the cigarette from Faith's lips, "what are you doing here?" she asked now annoyed by the girl's presence all together.

"I was around, thought I'd pay a little visit," the truth was that she knew that Buffy was going to be there. All night, Buffy had been complaining about how she didn't to have to talk to the school counselor, and so she thought she'd do something about it.

"How do you guys no each other?" the man asked.

Faith took the liberty of answering, "oh well, we've known each other for a while. Actually, I'm staying at her house while I'm in Sunny-D, and," she looked to Buffy, "I locked myself out of the house," the girl said nothing, she just looked at her like she was crazy. Faith winked, "I need you to come let me in…that's why I really came up here."

"Oh, yeah, sure I'll let you in," Buffy said as she understood what the other girl was doing. She looked at the counselor, "if that's okay with you."

"I don't care, it's not like I want to be here anyways," he watched them as they headed out the door, "but next time you should come up with a better excuse to get out of it, I don't want Snider on my ass."

Faith smiled, "who does?"

"That's gross," Buffy said frowning as she pushed the girl out the door.

They walked into the library laughing at something Faith had said, but went silent when they noticed the rest of the gang was there, and looking gloomy too, "do I even want to ask?" Buffy asked as she walked over to them.

"Probably not," Faith said as she followed behind her.

"Oz ate someone last night," Cordelia blurted.

"No he didn't!" Willow said angrily.

Xander sighed, "Oz does not eat people--it's more werewolf play," he said trying to ease the tension in the room, "you know, 'I bat you around a little bit, like a cat toy, I have harmless wolf fun,' sort of thing. It's not Oz's fault that the side effect, you know, people get cut to ribbons, and then maybe he'll take a little nibble and--I'm not helping am I?" he asked after noticing that every one looked even gloomier, except for Faith who was just staring at him like he was insane.

Giles looked at the two slayers, "Oz may have got out of his cage last night."

"Or maybe there's another wolf out there somewhere, and I'm getting the blame for what they're doing," Oz looked over to Xander, "that sounds better."

"Maybe it's neither one," Faith said drawing everyone's attention, "it could be a demon or something, we didn't see much last night, but there definitely wasn't any werewolf…that we saw anyways," she added thinking about how her and Buffy had mostly been joking around most of the night.

Buffy knew what the other slayer was thinking just by looking at her, she was trying to blame herself because they hadn't been paying much attention last night, they could've missed something, "it's okay," she said more to Faith then anyone else, then she turned back to the gang, "we'll work this out together."

Giles rubbed his head, "yes, Buffy's right. Um, Buffy why don't you patrol the woods tonight. Willow, why don't you, Xander and Cordelia go check out the morgue, see what you can get off of the body."

"I have gloves and stuff at my house," Buffy said knowing that they'd have to be careful, "why don't you stop by and pick them up."

"That's a good idea," Giles said, then he got back to what he was saying, "oh and Faith, why don't you watch Oz tonight."

"Sure, sounds like a blast," she said sarcastically. She didn't want to sit around, she wanted to go patrolling with Buffy, but she wasn't going to fight the man at the moment, not when lives were at stake.

Oz stood up, "wow, we're putting a slayer on duty now? Oh good, we're not overreacting."

"I would do it," Giles said seeing the worry in the boy's eyes, "but I have some things I need to look at that our at home, they might give us some clues to whether or not it's something else out there. We can't have Xander--it went so well last time."

"Right," Oz said as he started to walk away, but Willow stopped him, "I really need to have one of those moments when I get to just walk out."

She nodded, "I know but…it's almost dark," he didn't say anything to her, he just went over to the cage and locked himself in, "Oz--" she said as she walked over to him.

"Get away from the cage," he whispered.

"What?"

"It's gonna happen soon," he looked down, and then started to face the other way, "get away from me."

Faith leaned over towards Buffy, "good thing Kenn isn't here, she'd be trying to kick his ass for treating her like that, werewolf thing in all," Buffy didn't say anything, "you did tell her right?" the blonde slayer walked out of the library without saying a word, and the others left as well, leaving just her and Oz. She walked over to his cage, where he was still facing the other way, "don't take your shit out on Willow, cause if you do…you might just push her into someone else's arms. Kennedy's--"

Oz turned around furious to hear the girl's name, "get away from here!" he yelled. His breathing was heavy, he could feel it coming.

She backed away with her hands up, "I tried to warn you."

BR BR BR 

Buffy walked through the woods slowly, a stake in hand, ready for any sudden attacks. It had been a while since she had patrolled alone, and she could definitely see the difference in her amount of focus when she was alone compared to when she was with Faith. If Faith would have been with her at the moment, they would have been talking, possibly fighting, and not paying any attentions to their surroundings, but now she was on full alert. She had a job to do, a job that she was supposed to devote her time to, not use as a social outing, which is why she could tell that someone, or something, was watching her. First, it ran past the trees and bushes next to her, then in front of her, until finally it ran straight at her. It was faster then she thought it would be, and stronger too, so she fell to the ground, hitting it hard. When she looked up, she was shocked. It was a man, or a vampire who hadn't vamped, he was standing there, panting, with his shirt off. Blood was in the corner of his mouth, which he used to growl at her between breaths; she knew who he was.

"Angel?" there was no more time to think, no time to do anything but stand up before he hit her again. She didn't want to fight him, hurt him, but she could tell he wasn't himself. He was acting like an animal, attacking her at every chance he got, and hitting her most of those times too. Finally she saw an opening, she backhanded him hard across the face, but it was hard enough, he returned he hit making her fall to the ground again. She tripped him, and grabbed him by the arm when he hit the ground, wrapping her legs around it as she gripped his wrist, ready to break it if she had to, but before she could he found a way to hit her so she was up again. In one last move she hit him across the face again, this time he didn't get up.

After a moment of just staring at him, she picked him up and took him to the last place she had seen him, to that place where she thought she had killed him. When she got there she laid him on the ground, went open to a trunk, and pulled out a long chain that had cuffs on each end. She found a bar in the corner and threw the chain through it, grabbed Angel, cuffed both of his wrists and then took a step back. She looked at him as he woke up, at first he was calm, but then he started pulling against the chains trying to reach her as he growled and hissed. Her emotions were on high, questions running through her mind; how was he back, why was like that, what happened to him? Tears started to build in the corner of her eye as she moved around him, each time him jumping at her, she was going to the place where she had left her ring the night Faith and Kennedy had arrived. That night when she decided to finally let him go, to move on, and look forward. But that ring was not there, instead there was an outline of his body on the ground, which she bent down to touch. He was really back.

BR BR BR 

Willow, Xander, and Cordelia walked into the morgue, each of them hoping to find the same thing; to find evidence to prove Oz was innocent, even if they themselves thought otherwise. They had stopped by to get gloves from Buffy's, told Dawn she couldn't come, and were now about to examine the body of the boy that was killed; the boy that had gone to their school. The red head opened the door and pulled the table that the body was on, out of its place, and then pulled back the plastic that was covering him.

"Hold this," she said as she handed Xander the flashlight.

He took it, and tried not to look at the body. It's face was cut open in many places, making it hard to believe that it had once looked human, part of its arm was gone, and it smelt really bad. Cordelia was holding onto his shoulder, also trying not to look. Only Willow was able to collect any evidence.

"Hey."

All of them jumped, and then turned around to see that Dawn had followed them. Willow went back to what she was doing, pulling Xander's hand with her so he could shine the light where he needed to.

"You do not sneak up when we're doing crime," Xander said still in shock from being scared, but the girl didn't seem to care, she just moved up to look too.

"This is so cool," she whispered as she stood on her tiptoes, "whatever did this had to have really sharp teeth, big claws, and…" Willow looked at her and she moved back, "sorry."

"Thank god I have someone else to point these things out," Cordelia said. Dawn had said exactly what she had been thinking the whole time. The evidence was pointing to Oz, not helping him, but for once she had known not to say anything.

Willow closed the lunchbox that she had brought to put the evidence is, and started to take off the gloves, "okay we can--" she felt light headed suddenly and fell back on Xander, then she passed out.

"I knew this was too much for her," Cordelia whispered as she kneeled down next to her boyfriend and the unconscious red head, "I don't know what I'd do if I had to go and do something like this to prove that the guy I was dating wasn't a murderer."

Dawn laughed, "you wouldn't have done it. That guy would have been on his own…sorry Xander," she watched him pick her up and head out the door, neither one of them saying anything to her, "where are we going?"

BR BR BR 

The blonde slayer walked through the halls towards the library trying to keep her emotions in control. Once she had finally been able to come out of the shock of finding Angel, and the way he was, she realized that he could be the monster that killed Jeffery, the boy from their school who had been killed, and not Oz. The questions about Angel still remained, so she figured that she would go and get some books to see how it was possible, and keep an eye on Oz, which she partly did out of guilt. Before she walked in, she took a deep breath, knowing who'd she find inside, and made sure that she wasn't going to start crying again. Then she walked in.

Faith was dancing around, a CD player in hand, wearing a tight miniskirt, a black shirt and a blue jean jacket with some boots, in front of the cage where the wolf just sat and watched. The very sight of the brunette slayer made Buffy laugh, feeling a little lighter to see that at least someone was in there normal spirits. She went up behind her, called her name, but nothing happened so she tapped her on the shoulder.

In reflex, Faith instantly swung and hit Buffy in the face. When she realized who it was she pulled her head phones off, "shit, sorry B."

"No it's fine," she said as she rubbed her cheek.

The brunette slayer frowned, something wasn't right with the other slayer and she knew it. It wasn't something that was obvious and flashing in front of her, but she knew that there was something Buffy wasn't telling her, "you okay B?" she asked.

Buffy looked down, that was exactly what she was afraid of; that maybe Faith would be able to see through her mask, just as she had been able to when the other slayer had come back. Part of her wanted to tell her, but then again, Faith never liked Angel, and if she knew the state he was in, there's no telling what the girl would do. She looked back up, meeting the girl's eyes, and opened her mouth to lie, but then the girl looked past her instead of at her, and she turned around too. Kennedy was standing there watching them.

"That actual concern I'm hearing?" she asked with a smile.

Faith shrugged, "she was crying like a baby after I barely touched her, I had to at least act concerned," Buffy gave her a look so she, "what?"

"I was not crying," she rubbed her cheek again and both of them smiled at her, "it hurts okay, I admit that, but there was no crying," they all knew that she hadn't cried, Faith was just putting on that mask that she always wore when other people were around, and that included her sister. Buffy assumed it was just to always look tuff around the younger girl, so she left it alone.

Kennedy went to stand next to them, and spotted Oz who started to growl as she approached, "looks like someone didn't miss me," she said as she moved to go sit on top of the table.

Faith looked down at the wolf, remembering what she had said to Oz earlier, 'guess the wolf in you is a little smarter,' she thought to herself, then she looked over to her sister, "how was Dad?" she couldn't help but feel bad for leaving without saying goodbye to him, but she hadn't had a choice, and she didn't have the heart to go back and face him like Kennedy had.

"Good…drunk," Kennedy said, acting as if it was no big deal, but in her mind it wasn't a big deal. He was always drunk now, and before him it was Faith, so seeing someone in her family like that was never anything new for her, "went and saw Rachel too," she said with a grin.

"Oh yeah, you get laid too?" Faith asked.

Buffy went ahead and took a seat at the table, the hit she had received from both Angel and Faith taking its toll. It was funny to her, that the two of them could talk about sex as if it was nothing, she could never talk to Dawn about stuff like that, even if the age gap was as small as Faith's and Kennedy's, she just couldn't imagine it. Then she realized something, "who's Rachel?" she asked. Suddenly she remembered that she hadn't told Willow about the girl's return, and even though the two never dated, for a lot of reasons and because they always denied having feelings for each other, she knew that with everything that was going on, Willow didn't need any new surprises.

"Just some scank Junior is bangin," said Faith.

Kennedy gave her sister the finger, "hey, she's not a scank. Unlike you, some of have standards."

Faith finally decided to sit down too, but on the opposite side of Buffy, "I have standards," she said casually, "nothing up top, and a big cock below," both girls looked at her disgusted, "those are pretty good standards if you ask me."

"Maybe that's why we don't ask," Buffy said frowning.

"But there was that one time," Kennedy said catching both of their attention, "what was her name…?"

Buffy raised her brows, "her name?"

She reached on the table and hit her sister, "I did not sleep with her…I don't do chicks," both of them were still looking at her, making her uncomfortable, so she decided to go back to talking about her sister, "so did you and Rachel decide to break it off or what?" she asked changing the subject.

"No, we decided to stay together, in fact she said she's gonna come down in a few days to hang out."

"What about Willow?" Buffy asked thinking about how her best friend was going to react. Of course she would be nice, it was her nature, and she'd smile and nod, but on the inside, she knew the girl might be thrown off. At least that's what she thought, her and Oz had been really close before Faith came back, no conflicts in sight, but as soon as the other slayer had arrived, she saw a little shift in their relationship. Was it because of the whole thing her and Kennedy had, or was it just simple things couples went through, that happened to be going on when Faith arrived.

"What about Willow?" Kennedy asked, "me and her haven't talked in forever, and even if we did, what does she have to do with anything?"

Faith looked at her sister suspiciously, not completely convinced that the girl didn't care about what part Willow played in everything, "you guys have that thing?"

"Yeah you have that thing," Buffy said repeating what the other slayer said.

"No," Kennedy stood up from the table, "we don't have 'that thing', me and Willow were just friends guys, and plus, she stopped talking to me a long time ago."

Buffy squinted her eyes, "she stopped talking to you?" maybe she had been wrong about the two of them, maybe they hadn't been as close as she had thought, and maybe her and Oz were just going through normal couple stuff.

"Yeah, I wrote her one day, and she didn't respond. I thought she didn't get it so I re-wrote it again, then I figured she was too busy to write a letter, so I called her house. Her mom kept telling me she wasn't there, but once I heard her in the back round talking," she looked down, "then I was like, well her mom never liked me, so I'll e-mail her. She was the one who thought letters were cool, like old timey or whatever, but she never responded."

"She checks that thing everyday," Faith said a little angry that the red head had been acting as if it were Kennedy's fault that they hadn't talked, but by the way Willow had acted when Kennedy was mentioned, she thought for sure that the girl was actually sad about not talking to her, but obviously she had misread her, "shit Kenn, that sucks."

The girl just shrugged, "yeah well, just another friend lost. No big deal," she walked backwards towards the door, "anyways, I'll see you guys later, got a long day tomorrow starting school and all. You two try not to kill each other."

"We wouldn't both die…just B over there," Faith said trying to lighten the mood, "I'll see you later alright."

"Yeah, we can go to a club or something…not tonight, I mean tomorrow," she turned around, looked at the wolf, which was staring at her intensely, and then walked out.

When she couldn't hear her sister's footsteps anymore, Faith turned to Buffy, "your friend sucks ass just to let you know…Kenn doesn't hurt that easy, and she's a fucking mess underneath all that shit she just spewed, acting like she didn't care."

"I know," the blonde slayer said, as she thought of her best friend, "but it just doesn't sound like Willow."

"No, it doesn't," Faith said as she stared down at Oz, 'all men are monsters' she thought to herself, repeating in her mind what she had said earlier, "I'll ask Red about it later."

Scared that Faith's version of asking would be more like hitting, Buffy decided that she would be the one to ask, "no I'll do it."

BR BR BR 

Joyce walked down the stairs in her pajamas, pulling a robe on as she did to fight the chilliness in her house, to answer the door. It was the third time her door had been knocked on that night, the first time Willow, Xander, and Cordelia came to get some stuff from Buffy's room, the second time they were dropping Dawn, who had apparently snuck out when her mother had fallen asleep, and now she was curious to see who it was the third time. She opened it and was surprised by who she saw, "Kennedy," she said warmly, she gave the girl a hug, "Buffy told me about your mom, I'm so sorry."

Kennedy hugged the woman back, glad to feel that motherly feeling she had been missing for a while, "thanks," she pulled back, "I know Faith is staying with Giles, but I was wondering if maybe I could crash here…at least for tonight."

"Of course you can," she moved for to let the girl walk by, and then closed the door, "you can stay as long as you want, it's always good to have you here."

"I appreciate that."

Dawn, having heard a knock at the door, came running down the stairs in her pajama's as well, "oh my god Kennedy!" she ran over to the girl and gave her a big hug, "I can't believe you're back."

"Neither can I," she said honestly as she returned the hug, "but I'm glad that I am," the Summer's house had become her second home when she had stayed there before. A place that she always missed when she went back home, because at of all the places she had ever been to, this was the only place that she could really get comfortable in, that she really felt loved in. Yeah, she knew her parents loved her, but they had always had a hard time showing it. When her and Faith had gone home last time, their mother had gotten a little better, but she was gone.

"You can stay in Buffy's room," Dawn said as she pulled Kennedy towards the stairs, "she's obviously not coming home…night Mom."

Joyce smiled, "goodnight Dawn, hopefully for the last time," she said seriously, then she softened her tone, "goodnight Kennedy."

"Night Ms. Summers," she said as she let herself be pulled by the young girl, "I was wondering that…why are Buffy and Faith on Oz watch tonight?" she asked remembering that she herself had forgotten. The real reason she had gone to the school first, after seeing it was a full moon, was because she thought Willow would be there. She was the one that usually watched Oz, so Kennedy was a little thrown to see her sister and Buffy there, but she had forgotten all about it once they started talking.

"Oh, it's nothing," Dawn said as she opened her sister's bedroom door, just knowing that she wasn't supposed to be in there gave her a rush, "Oz might have killed someone last night when he was all wolfed out, and everyone's stressing about it. I don't think he did it though."

Kennedy sat down on Buffy's bed and started to take her shoes off, "if they've got slayers watching him they must be on high alert, why don't you think he did it?"

Dawn sat down too, "they let me go to the morgue with them," the other girl gave her a knowing look, "okay it's more like I followed them, but still, I saw it. At first, cause of the scratched up face, and the missing arm, I thought he did it, but after thinking about it I changed my mind…it just doesn't feel right."

"Hmm," she took off her shirt, she had a muscle shirt underneath it, and then went into the slayers closet where she got some bottoms to put on, "let's hope you're right kid."

"Trust me, I know these things," Dawn turned looked down, "mind if I sleep in here tonight?" she asked.

In her mind, Dawn was the little sister she never had, despite the looks the girl sometimes gave her, so she told her that she could stay, and then laid down, "what about Willow, she okay with everything that's going on?"

"She's hanging on," she had been waiting for Kennedy to ask about the red head, "she passed out at the morgue earlier, but not until after she collected some evidence from the body…she's pretty tough when she needs to be."

After a moment of silence, Kennedy decided to finally ask the question she really wanted to ask, "does she ever talk about me?" there was no answer, "Dawn?" she turned over to see that the girl was already sleep, "night Dawnie."

BR BR BR 

Giles walked into the library with a coffee in hand. He had spent the night reading anything he thought could be related to the recent events only to find that it wasn't in any of the books, that he owned at least. He opened up the cage where Oz was back to his normal self asleep, and then looked up to see that both Buffy and Faith were asleep as well up the stairs. Buffy was sitting bunched up in a chair with a book in her lap, her head resting on her hand, and Faith was at the blonde slayers feet lying on her back with her foot on part of a stool, almost kicking a stack of books off. He went up the stairs, and picked up the book, careful not to wake either one of them. It was a book about Acathla, he looked to Buffy and saw that she was looking at him, then he walked down the stairs over to the check out desk waving for her to follow.

She looked down at Faith and smiled, she had told the girl to leave, but obviously she had come back in the middle of the night, which was probably good because she had fallen asleep. Being careful not to step on her, Buffy stood up and made her way over to where Giles was standing. He lifted up the book that she had meant to put back, "Faith and her crazy reading…always wrapped up in anything she can slay," she said with a nervous smile.

"I know you had it Buffy…Faith doesn't even know what a card index is for," he said as he took another sip of his coffee, "the question is why are you reading it?"

"What if I told you that I had a dream about Angel coming back…one that was very detailed and…scary?" she pulled the book over to her.

"I'd say it's to be expected. I used to have dreams about Jenny all the time, one's with me making it in time to save her, you know stuff like that," the man said as he remembered it happening to himself and how he also wondered just as Buffy was.

She sat down on top of the counter, "mine were very detailed…is it possible that, you know, he could happen?"

"Not that I know of?" he said honestly, "but even if he did, I doubt that he would come back the same, not after being in a demon dimension. The time is so different there, and…it's probably not a fun place. Do you think it was a prophesy?"

"No," she said quickly, so quickly that she herself knew it didn't sound right, "I don't know maybe," she said more smoothly, "but what if he did, what would he be like after…what hundreds of years of torture?"

"Yes, a dimension like that…he would have been tortured, brutally, everyday," he looked away from her, "I'd imagine that he's be a monster."

Faith opened an eye and looked over at the two of them; she hadn't really been sleep at all. After she herself had spotted the book, she knew something was up with the other slayer, so she set it up to where Giles would find it, when he came to work, and it looked like they were about to fall over, like she was about to kick it over. She knew he wouldn't want his collections to be damaged, it was hard to do without waking Buffy, but she pulled it off, laid down, and closed her eyes. Eventually, she did fall asleep, but she heard the man come in, and was just listening to the two of them talk.

"A lost cause?" Buffy asked, hoping that her watcher would give her something positive, anything really, just something that would give her some hope of Angel being able to get better.

"Perhaps, but maybe not. I figure there's two possibilities, if one has a strong enough character and drive to get better, then its possible, but if he's not…if he's lost all humanity and reason, then yes, I'd imagine he would be a lost cause."

"Hey," Willow said as she walked in with donuts in hand, "I thought Faith was on duty tonight."

Faith sat up and stretched her arms, "I'm here."

Buffy looked over at the other slayer and started to wonder whether the girl had really been sleep, but she wasn't going to ask in front of everyone else, "I told her to leave, but she must of came back," she now realized how the book she had had ended up on the stool Faith had had her feet on, 'can't get anything past her can I?' she added mentally.

"I brought donuts," the red head said. She lifted the donuts, "figured Faith and Oz would be hungry."

Oz woke up, put his clothes on, and then went to stand by Willow, "not really hungry, but thanks anyways."

Kennedy walked in having heard what Willow had said, and how Oz had responded, she was going to say something to him, but then she remembered it wasn't her place, "Faith's always hungry," she said catching all of their attention, "knowing her fat ass, she'll eat the whole box."

Willow just stood for a moment, thinking maybe she was hallucinating, but then she realized everyone else was looking too, "Kennedy," she said softly, "what are you doing here?" her body started to move forward, desperately wanting to give the girl a hug, but then she felt Oz intertwine their fingers and didn't move.

Seeing the gesture, Faith went over to stand next to her sister, "forgot to tell you, Kenn's moving back too, in fact she starts school today," just seeing the look on Oz's face made her smile. Being his usual self, he didn't show that much of an emotional change, but she could see it in his eyes, "isn't that awesome?"

"Anyways," Kennedy said as she nudged her sister, "Dawn told me about what's going on, said something about you guys going to the morgue, you find anything why you were there?"

Buffy too wanted to know if they had found anything, especially since it could have been angel who did it. Willow sort of just stood there, still staring at Kennedy, "Will, did you find anything?"

"It was inconclusive," the red head said as she finally looked away.

"What do you mean it was inconclusive?" Buffy asked angrily, "what did it look like? Was he bit?""

"Buffy let her finish," Giles said sensing the girl's anger.

"No, it's just--" she sat down, "I'm sorry."

In that instant, Faith knew what was going on. She knew why the other slayer had been acting so weird, and asking all kind of questions about Angel, reading books about Acathla, all of it made sense, "he's alive," she whispered.

Kennedy looked at her sister oddly, confused by what she had just said, "what?"

"Oh shit," Faith said as she walked towards the door, "I gotta go, there's some things I gotta take care of."

Buffy looked at the girl curiously, "what kinda thing?"

"You know…things," she walked out of the door, "I see you later Kenn."

"Yeah, okay," Kennedy stood there for a second, wondering what her sister was up to, then the bell rung, bringing her back to the room, "shit, I have to go too…first day and all," she looked at the gang, and then at Willow, "it's great to see you guys."

The red head smiled, "yeah, you too."

BR BR BR 

Buffy was sitting with Scott, Pete, and Debbie, feeling nervous being next to the guy she was dating while the man she loved was chained up in a mansion. Then she spotted Kennedy wandering around and waved for her to come sit with them.

"Hey," the girl said as she sat down, "thanks for the invite," she said nicely.

"Oh it was nothing," she looked at the rest of the people at the table, "guys this is Kennedy, Kennedy this is Pete, Debbie, and Scott."

Kennedy shook their hands, "I think I know you," she said to Debbie, "did we have a class together last year," the girl looked at her like she was confused, "you know, you asked me if I was really gay, and I just kissed you instead of answering," Pete put his arm around Debbie, "oops, probably shouldn't of said that."

Buffy covered her eyes, "you are truly Faith's sister," she looked at Pete, who didn't seem so happy, "if it helps, she kisses every girl she sees."

"Hopefully not you," Scott said as he put his arm around Buffy, "I think I'd be heart broken."

Kennedy looked between Buffy and Scott and laughed, "hmm that's weird, I just thought--"

"What did you think?" Buffy asked curious to see what the girl was thinking.

The slayer had responded exactly the way she had wanted her to, "well you know, since you and Faith have 'that thing'," she made sure to emphasize what her sister and Buffy had said to her earlier, " I thought that you guys were secretly madly in love with each other, and in this crazy secret relationship."

Scott looked down, "that's very interesting."

The table went silent, Buffy too thinking about what the girl had said. Did her and Faith have 'that thing'; did it seem like they were secretly in love? They did have a weird relationship, but she hadn't really thought it was like Willow and Kennedy's, who she recently found out was not as much of a big deal as she thought.

"I was just kidding," Kennedy said trying to get rid of the tension, "wow some people just don't have a sense of humor," she stood up, "I'll see you later B, nice to meet you guys," with her mission accomplished, she walked away with a huge smile, dumping the tray of food in the trash as she did.

BR BR BR 

Faith walked into the place where she and Kennedy had tagged along with Buffy too, the night when they had fought Kakistos. It was the place that Buffy had killed Angel, and the place she knew her assumption would be confirmed. As soon as she was inside she saw the man she had accepted to see, "Angel," she said as she approached him, shocked to see that he was chained, but then again Giles had said he would be a monster. He lunged at her, so she stopped, "you always did have a way of stressing Buffy out when she already had enough trouble," the vampire stopped moving, he relaxed his arms and put his head on his knees, "you…" she heard footsteps and moved to hide as Buffy walked in.

The blonde looked at Angel, seeing that he was calm, "Angel? Do you understand me?" slowly, she walked over to him, her hand stretched out. She wanted to believe that he could change back, that he had a chance, but when she touched him he lunged at her. The animal inside of him was showing full force. He growled and sneered, making her back away, and then he huddled himself against the wall.

Buffy ran out, and Faith came out of her hiding place, furious at what she just witnessed. She saw the hurt on Buffy's face, the tears in her eyes, felt her heart crack just by watching her, and all she wanted to do was kill him. To get rid of the one thing that was always a problem in Buffy's life, whether he was sane or not, but she knew that if she did Buffy would find out and never forgive her for it so she settled for kicking him hard in the face, making him fall back, the wall behind him cracking.

"Be glad that she still loves you…if she didn't I'd take you out here and now," he lunged at her, but she was too far away for him to touch, "lucky for us, Buffy gives animal a second chance," she looked at him one last time, and then walked out.

BR BR BR 

Buffy barged into Mr. Platt's office with tears in her eyes, "I know we don't have an appointment or anything," she said making sure that she got the first words in, his back still to her, "but there's something I need to talk about, and I can't tell Willow or Faith," unsure why she said the other slayer's name, she paused for a second, "or anybody…if they found out, they'd freak or do something I really don't want them to do, so I came here because I really need someone to talk to," once again tears began to build in her eyes, "I'm so scared…it's about that guy that we were talking about, he--" she took a step forward and saw that the cigarette in his hand was burned down all the way to his fingers, and knew the man was dead, "he's come back."

BR BR BR 

Go forward to rest of chapter, it wouldn't all fit - ThomThom


	4. Animalistic, That Thing Pt2

-1

"This creature is very brutal," Giles said as he walked by the table in the library. Buffy had come and told him what had happened to Mr. Platt, how parts of the skin on his face had been missing over one of his eyes, and the other side of his face had deep cuts on it. Now, they had the information they needed. Willow and Faith were also in the room, the red head sitting down staring at her feet, and Faith pacing behind her. Both of their minds were on other things, along with what this new information meant, because they both had other problems as well.

Faith couldn't help but think about Angel and Buffy, she couldn't figure out if she were more mad about him being alive, or about the fact that Buffy still didn't trust her enough to tell her about it. It was true that she never liked the guy, but did the blonde slayer still think she was the same old crazy slayer that had once tried to kill him?

Willow was thinking about Kennedy, and what her being back meant. Everything had started to go so well with her and Oz, of course not considering their discussion earlier, and she hadn't expected the girl to show up. It wasn't really Oz she was worried about, and it wasn't Kennedy either, it was herself and whether she could stand being around Kennedy.

"But by the way he look, fresh wounds and all, he was killed during the day," Faith stated as a map started to work in her mind, "that clears Oz."

"Yes!" Willow said happily as she was pulled back into the room, at least now one problem was out of the way. All of them looked at her, "sorry--it's just--it's horrible, horrible."

"It's okay Will," Buffy said understanding what her best friend was feeling, since it happened during the day, Angel was also off the suspect list, "we're all glad that Oz is off the hook."

"Speaking of," Giles said as he looked at his watch, "shouldn't he be here by now? It's almost sunset."

BR BR BR 

Kennedy was walking through the corridor outside, on the way to the library, when she spotted Oz, "hey, what are you doing out here so close to sunset?" she asked as she approached him.

"I'm waiting for someone," he said as he looked around, "said I'd lend some notes to a friend," he said trying to make the girl go away.

"How nice of you," she said sarcastically. She hadn't originally planned on being mean to the guy, but she knew what he was trying to do, and couldn't help herself, "do we have a problem?" she asked angrily.

"Only if you make one," he said keeping his voice at its normal calm, then he turned and looked at her, "I know about the letter you sent her…the one where you admitted you had feeling for he. Look, with all that's going on with us, me and Willow really don't need anymore problems…please don't try to be another one."

Kennedy looked at him with a blank face, "I never wrote her a letter that said I had feelings for her."

"Kennedy--"

"Hey guys," Debbie said as she walked up to them, half of her face covered by her hair. She had only expected to see Oz, "you bring the notes?" she asked laughing nervously.

It was Kennedy who noticed the bruise around the girl's eye that she was trying to cover. She reached to move the hair, at first the girl moved away, but then she let Kennedy move it, "that's a nasty bruise you're sporting," she said as she touched the girl's face, "Oz give her the notes."

He pulled the papers from his pocket and handed them over, "you fall or something?" he asked knowing what really happened, "hit your eye?"

"Um, yeah," Debbie whispered, "doorknob."

Kennedy took the girls hand, and gently kissed it, "if this doorknob give you anymore problems, you let me know, and I'll tear the whole door down. Okay?"

Debbie wiped away a tear, "yeah, thanks, but I think I'll just be more careful next time," she said as she pulled her hand back and walked away.

The two of them watched her until she was out of sight.

"That was really cool of you," Oz said as he stared at Kennedy. He could feel that she was angry, that thing that lied beneath the surface of her and her sister showing itself in her eyes, "we gotta go, the sun's going down."

"Yeah, we should go."

BR BR BR 

Giles sat down on the edge of table, trying hard to figure out what they were looking for, "now we just need to figure out what sort of killer we're dealing with, it has to be some sort of animal."

"Present," Oz said as he and Kennedy walked in, "with other breeds following me up," after what he had seen outside. That slight bit of control, and heart he had seen within Kennedy, he no longer feared that she was as mean and selfish as he once had. It was just, that letter was so…the fact that she even wrote it seemed to be so wrong because she knew that Willow was taken, but now he just saw it as a mistake that she had made in a burst of emotion. The same thing that had happened with him the day before when he had been mean to Willow, and Faith, though she deserved it, it was something he would never usually do, but all the pressure had been too much, so he couldn't help himself.

"I resent that," Kennedy said jokingly, "but I'll admit I have my moments."

Willow was confused by the two's nice way of speaking, and the way that they had come in together, but she was too excited to really ask about it. She ran and stood beside him, "it's kill-in-the-day monster," she said excitedly.

He smiled, at once shocked and relieved, and put his arm around Willow, "Okay," was all he could manage to say.

"Sorry we don't have to celebrate, but we still have a killer to deal with," the watcher said, trying to keep everyone on track. He too was very happy to find that Oz was innocent, but he also had to think of all the people still in danger, "we have two victims now, Jeffery and Mr. Platt. Maybe they had something in common."

"Missing internal organs," Faith said trying to help.

Kennedy looked at her sister like she was stupid, "we know that dumbass, stop stating the obvious."

"I think it's Debbie," said Oz, "her and Jeffery were in Jazz Band with me last year, they used to mess around."

"They were screwing?" Faith asked.

"Really sis, just don't talk."

Oz frowned, "uh no screwing but he did get really mad one day and hit her music comp book…a more subtle way of showing affection."

Faith nodded, "kindergarten style."

"And she made that whole comment about Platt this morning," Buffy added, going back to what Oz said, "obviously she didn't care for the guy; she called him a nut case."

"Me and Oz just bumped into her on the way here, she had one hell of a blow to right eye, it was all swollen and black…screams abuse if you ask me."

"She's right, when I saw Platt it looked like he had to be dead in an instant, didn't even have time to put down his cigarette," she sat up, "what if it's Pete. That would explain the black eye and Jeff, and then if Debbie doesn't like Platt, he would want to impress her by taking him out."

"Then we should find the both of them before anyone else gets hurt," Giles said as he put on his jacket.

"Deb was just in the cord, maybe she's still nearby," Oz said as he watched everyone get ready to move.

Giles looked at everyone, "okay then, let's split up. Faith you come with me. Willow go with Buffy and Kennedy," he looked at Kennedy, "you being back does include you helping doesn't it? We could definitely use your skill."

She smiled, "being back does include helping, as long as you need it."

"Good," the man said with a smile, "then we're lucky to have you…okay everyone let's go."

"I guess I'll just…lock myself in the cage," Oz said as everyone started to leave.

Faith walked by Kennedy, "I didn't get that kind of welcome."

"That's because you come with a 'warning I'm trouble' sign written on your forehead," she grabbed her sister's arm and waited until everyone, except for Oz was out of the room, "it better not still be there and I'm just too blind to see it," she warned.

Faith pulled away, "nice to see you believe in me," she said angrily.

"Yeah well, forgive me when I notice that my sister is hiding something from me."

BR BR BR 

Debbie was in the locker room putting on more makeup when she saw Buffy and Willow walk in through the mirror. She tried to act normal, by continuing what she was doing.

"It's tricky covering a fresh shiner like that," Buffy said as she watched the girl, "you know what works?"

"What?"

"Don't get hit," the slayer said bluntly, "what's going on Debbie?"

Kennedy walked in, all three of them turning to look at her, "no worries, I'm not a doorknob," the slayer and red head looked at her confused, "it's a joke me and Debbie have with each other," she said as she walked over to the girl, "except it's not really funny, is it?" the girl shook her head, "you know that I'm not here to hurt you in any way right?"

"Yeah," Debbie whispered as she tried not to look the girl in the eyes.

Buffy stood back, letting Kennedy take over, "she's good at this stuff," she said to the red head. She herself hadn't really mapped out what she was going to say to the girl when they found her, but she knew it was going to consist of tough love, not inside jokes and gentle looks.

Willow just watched Kennedy as she started to whisper some things to the girl, getting the occasional nod as a response. It had been so long since she had seen her, but she never forgot this side of her. The side that came out in desperate measures, and when someone needed her most. It was the side of her that was beyond kind; beyond loving; it was pure and undoubting, "she's amazing."

"It's not his fault," Debbie said loud enough for the others to hear, "when he gets like this…it's not his fault."

Kennedy put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "we just want to help you…make sure no one else gets hurt."

"He just does what he does because he loves me too much."

Kennedy moved even closer to the girl, "if he loved you, he wouldn't do this," first, she touched the girls black eye, "or cause this," she said as she wiped away one of the girl's tears, "and he definitely wouldn't break this," she pointed to the girl's heart, "if he loved you that much, we wouldn't be here…and I know how much it would hurt even more to find out that someone you love doesn't love you back--but you have to admit to yourself that this isn't love, it's up session, and it's not only hurting you, or the families of the people that have been killed, it's hurting him too. It's eating him away inside, and the only way to stop it is to get him help…let us help you, so he can get help."

"Pete's not like other guys is he Debbie?" Buffy asked, putting herself back into the realm of interrogation. Now that she knew for sure that it was Pete, she was in a hurry to find him.

"If you don't let us help you," Willow said also joining the group, "then you might end up dead, and then it'll be too late. We're running out of time."

"She's right," Kennedy looked the girl in the eyes, "where is he?" she asked. The girl said nothing, she was shut down, and Kennedy knew it, "let's go guys."

"But she didn't tell us anything," Willow said as Kennedy started to walk out.

She stopped and looked at the red head seriously, intensely, "let's go."

"She's right Will, this isn't going to get anywhere, and we need to find Pete," Buffy said as she followed Kennedy out.

Willow stood there for a moment and looked at Debbie, who was now sitting down chanting 'he does love me' over and over again, "come on," she said. The girl stood up and they left too.

BR BR BR 

"Since when did you and that whore decide it was okay to put the moves on my girl," Pete said as he walked over to the cage, finding Oz inside of it, "I saw you, both of you."

"Pete calm down, me and Kennedy were just talking to her…it was move-free," he said seeing that the boy was crazed.

Pete put his hand on the cage and put his face up to it, "does Kennedy happen to be in there with you…no, well I guess I'll have to take care of her next."

"Look," Oz looked up to the window to see that the sky was barely lit, "in a few minutes something that you're not gonna believe is going to happen and--" all of a sudden, Pete's head started to move back in forth. It was moving so fast that at some points he couldn't make it out, but when he stopped moving, he saw that the boy had changed, "or you might."

Pete's face was red with large veins all over it, his face stuck in an angry teeth gritty expression, his had also changed to a red and covered with vein, and his nails had grown sharp and black. He put his fingers through the squares of the cage, ripped the door off, and pulled Oz out, throwing him to the ground. Then he walked over, picked him up, and slammed him through a table. Oz stood up and he grabbed him by the shirt, "did you kiss that whore? Did she like it?" he asked as he picked him up again, this time slamming him against the stairs.

Seeing his chance, Oz kicked the crazed boy in the stomach. He's breathing was rapid, and his heart was pounding, "time's up," he said as he looked through the window to see that the full moon was high in the sky, "rules change."

Just as Pete sat up, he saw Oz change, fur covering his body, his face changing into a sneering animal. He stood up and it lunged at him, but he caught it and through it to the ground, only to be kicked backwards in the stomach. Then it lunged at him again, he tried to hit it off, but it was wrapped around him, pulling him down onto the stairs. Once they were both down, it bit into his arm, pushing its teeth deep into his flesh, "Ahh!"

BR BR BR 

In the hall, Buffy and the others heard the scream, and ran into the library.

"What was that?" Giles asked as him and Faith also ran in, he saw Wolfed out OZ, taking bites out of Pete on the stairs, "get the dart gun," he yelled.

After noticing who was underneath, the wolf Debbie started to panic, "Pete!" she saw Buffy aiming the dart gun and hit it just as the other blonde pulled the trigger, making it hit the English man instead.

"Sorry," Buffy said as the man started to stumble. He fell knocking over a table, which gave the wolf time enough to go around and jump over the counter, heading out of the door. She threw Faith the gun and looked to her and Kennedy, "get the wolf, I've got Pete," when she saw the two leave, Willow right behind them, she turned her attention to Pete, hitting repeatedly, but he knocked a book case over, and she fell to the ground. By the time she got up, he was running out of the library and into the hall, "damnit."

BR BR BR 

Faith ran down the hall as fast as she could, the gun in hand, Willow and Kennedy close behind her. Then she felt something, a feeling, calling, for her to go help someone else. She turned to her sister and tossed her the gun while still running full speed, "you help Willow," she said as she kept running.

"Where are you going?" Kennedy asked as she watched her sister turned and disappeared down another hallway.

"Where do you think?" she yelled in reliance to her sister's comment.

Kennedy kept running forward, knowing exactly where Faith was going, and keeping an eye on the wolf. They ran down some stairs, hitting a spot where it had no where to go, so she lifted the gun, but it knocked it out of her hand as it lunged at her, "Ahh!"

Willow, seeing the whole thing, screamed too, but in a much higher pitch.

"Where's the gun!?" Kennedy asked as she tried to keep the wolf from biting her, "where's the gun!?"

Finally able to move, Willow grabbed it by its tail, "get off of her," then she turned and started to run as it came after her, "get the gun! Get the gun! Hurry!"

Kennedy picked the gun up, lifted to eye level, and closed one eye, "let's hope I'm still good at this," she squeezed the trigger, feeling a slight jolt being sent through her arms. She had hit her target, the wolf fell to the ground with a high pitched cry, she kissed the gun, "I knew there was a reason I loved these things."

Willow turned and looked at Kennedy, "thanks," was all she could say. She wanted to say so much more while she had the chance, no one was around, and Oz was wolfed out and unconscious, but she couldn't pull herself to do it.

BR BR BR 

After spotting some blood on the wall, Buffy had climbed out of a window in the school, and gone into a room that looked like a technicians hide out. She looked down, and spotted Debbie's dead body, "oh god," as she went down to check the girl's pulse, Pete grabbed her by the shoulder's and threw her across the room. She sat up, and looked over at him, and just when he was about to attack her, the doors flew open, "Angel?"

The crazed vampire growled, and then started to beat the crap out of the boy. Hitting him over and over again until he fell to the ground, then he went over and wrapped his chains around the boy's neck, squeezing them until his neck snapped. Once the boy was dead, he pulled the chains from around his throat, and stood up right. He walked over to Buffy slowly, fear in her eyes, and fell to his knees, putting his head against her stomach, "Buffy?"

When she hard her name come from the man's mouth, she couldn't help but start to cry. She had gotten what she wanted more than anything, for him to be sane, to remember who she was, and he did. He came to her rescue, because he remembered who she was.

Faith ran up to the door, hoping that she hadn't been too late, but in a way she had. She stopped dead at the door when she saw Buffy standing there and Angel with his arms wrapped around her waist, a part of her shattering inside. Then she turned and ran away, wanting so badly to escape, but she had no where to go.

BR BR BR 

The next day, Buffy spotted Willow standing alone at school waiting for the other's to come from their classes, "hey," she said as she walked over to her friend, seeing that she had pulled her back to reality, "what ya thinking about?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, just how glad I am that all that stuff is over," she forced a smile onto her face, "did Faith make it in time to help you last night?" she asked. There had been stories about Jeff and Deb's bodies being found, and wondered if the brunette slayer had made in time or did Buffy have to kill the boy herself.

"Faith?" Buffy asked, unsure what the red head was talking about.

They started walking, "yeah, she ran off when we were chasing Oz, I figured it was to help you. She was out of sight for the rest of the night."

"She must of came after I left," she knew that that wasn't true, Faith was too fast to have been too late to running to her aid, and she cared to much to drag her ass on the way. It was obvious to her that Faith had seen Angel, and took off, hopefully not for good, "do you know if Kennedy's talked to her?" she asked. The red head simply shook her head, giving Buffy the perfect opportunity to ask about Willow and Kennedy's friendship. She touched the girl's arm telling her to stop, "why did you stop writing her…I don't want to intrude or anything but--I thought you guys had 'that thing'."

"We did," Willow said finally admitting it after hearing it from both of her best friends. She took a deep breath, "it wasn't until Kennedy left that I realized how much she meant to me--how much I cared about her. I didn't understand it really, I just thought maybe we just had some kind of connection…then there was Oz, and I really do love him…I do," she paused, replaying her last words over and over in her head, "it's just…one day, I got this letter from Kennedy, about this girl that she liked, and I freaked out. I started to panic, thinking I was going to lose her, so I started this letter telling her how I had been feeling--that I knew it wasn't right, because of Oz, but I felt it anyways. Of course it was just a rough draft, there was no name's or anything, just to be cautious, and it's a good thing I was cause one day I dropped it and I found Oz reading it. He didn't know that I saw him, and I didn't mention it cause he just put it back where he thought it came from, and assumed it was Kennedy…that's why he's been all weird about her."

"I see," Buffy said as she nodded, then she spotted Xander, Cordelia, Kennedy, and Oz walking towards her, "hey guys," she said to let Willow know that they were coming, and wouldn't go on. Both of them put on their best smiles.

Willow turned around and smiled at Oz, then at Kennedy, who returned it with a nod as well, then she they all started walking, "the whole Debbie and Pete thing is all over school…well except the part about him being a monster."

"Yeah, a freshman told me that Pete had eight iced café mochas and just lost it," Oz said as he took he his girlfriends hand.

"Let's all make a deal to keep a limit on Red then," Kennedy said as she noticed them holding hands, she was honestly glad that she wasn't causing trouble for the couple anymore, "we definitely don't want her runnin around all crazed on a sugar high. All in favor say, 'I'."

"I," the whole group said at once.

Willow pouted, "hey."

"That's better then the one I heard. Some kid told me that Pete took all of his mom's estrogen pills and that what made him crazy," Buffy said laughing.

Cordelia turned to Xander, "He didn't take them? Pete was a monster?"

"In so many ways," Kennedy mumbled under her breath.

"What really happened then?" asked Cordelia.

"Apparently," Willow said taking the lead on answering the question, she had after all been the one to find out, "he was using some potion thing that had a Jekyll/Hyde effect. He was afraid that Debbie was going to leave him so he made something that would make him all tough."

"And crazy," Kennedy added feeling no sympathy for the dead boy.

"The only thing was," Buffy said as they kept walking, "after a while he didn't need it anymore, did it all on his own."

Cordelia was shocked, "so it was like a real killing?"

Kennedy rolled her eyes in annoyance, "are they're fake ones?" she asked sarcastically.

"No she means...he wasn't under the influence of nothing?" Xander asked trying to help his girlfriend.

Both Buffy and Kennedy laughed slightly, "just himself," they said at the same time."

Buffy spotted Scott sitting along and decided she'd go talk to him, "I'll see you guys later," she said as she walked away.

"Now I'm gonna be stuck in serious thought all day?" Cordelia griped.

Kennedy sighed, "that's a shame…no more world peace?"

"I really don't like you," the conceited girl said angrily.

Willow laughed, "I don't think she cares."

Buffy sat down and watched her friend vanish into the crowd, then she turned her attention to Scott, "what can I say that won't sound stupid and obvious?" she asked.

He was heartbroken, that usual chipper-ness, nowhere to be seen. "you know it's not even the fact that I've known them since before school that really bothers me…it's just that you never know what's going on inside someone," he turned and looked at her, "do you? I mean, you think if you care about them--But you never really do."

She looked away from him, thought of Angel swarming through her mind. All of what Scott said fit with what was going on with the man she had thought she lost, but one more person also popped up in her mind as well…Faith. If the girl had seen her, and then run off, then that meant there was something she wasn't telling her, something she wasn't sure she wanted to hear. She put her hand on the boys' knee, "no you don't."

BR BR BR 

Later that night, everything Scott had said still fresh within her, Buffy sat against the wall, watching Angel sleep. He was twitching, mumbling things under his breath, and occasionally growling, but she knew that there was a chance that all of that would disappear. That all the pain within him would fade eventually.

'Night came on, and a full moon rose high over the trees, lighting the land till it lay bathed in ghostly day. And the strain of the primitive remained alive and active. Faithfulness and devotion, things born of fire and roof were his, et he retained his wildness and wiliness. And from the depths of the forest, a call still sounded.'

She felt someone approach her from behind, and looked up to see Faith walking towards her, then she turned her attention back to Angel, what she had thought earlier being proven. The brunette slayer stood behind her without causing any trouble, she put her hand on the blonde's shoulder, which the blonde covered with her own and gave a gentle squeeze.

--TO BE CONTINUED--

ThomTHom


	5. What You Really Feel

Here's the next chap. -ThomThom

Chapter Four: What You Really Feel

"I think a limo is our best bet," Cordelia said with a smile. It had been sort of a quiet night for the gang, quiet meaning she was the one talking the most. All of them seemed to be somewhere else, Buffy was staring off into space, Xander was playing with his cup, and Oz and Willow and were wrapped up in themselves. She elbowed her boyfriend.

Xander frowned, "uh, I don't know, it sounds a little expensive for some people, and by some people I mean me. We could take the bus," he said with a smile, but when Cordelia looked over at him he sunk back, "no bus."

"Limo's are nice," Willow said as she looked over at Oz, "there's lots of space in limo's and we could cuddle," she moved closer to him, "lots of cuddling."

"Cuddling is nice," the boy said with a smile.

Kennedy walked up to the group with drinks in hand, "does everyone remember that I have a car?" she asked as she set drinks in front of everyone, "we could take my car," she looked over to Willow, who inched away from Oz nervously. They hadn't really been talking much since she had come back, for reasons she could understand of course, but it was getting more and more awkward by the moment. In her mind she could see them going back to the way things used to be, before everyone started label their friendship and make it into something it wasn't. Yeah, she herself did have feelings for Willow, but just like the red head, she was taken. There would be no more, Kennedy sleep every girl you see, sort of thing, and that included girls she actually had feelings for.

"I do love your car," Cordelia admitted, "it's all expensive and for 'Daddy's perfect little girl', but with expense their comes small spaces that make us have to squeeze in the back seat," she pictured herself jammed in a back seat with Oz and Willow, which was horrifying, then she shook it off, "I still say we get a limo."

"Limo it is," declared Xander as he also pictured being forced in the seat but his involved having to sit on Oz's lap for some reason. He looked over to Buffy who had been very quiet the whole night, "unless you object to the limo."

Buffy realized that everyone was looking at her and cleared her throat, "oh no, I'm fine with the limo plan, but I'm not sure if I'm going," she said with a nervous smile. Though she had bought the tickets a while back, there were a couple of things keeping her from fully knowing if she was actually going to attend homecoming. One, she couldn't help but think about Angel all day, and want to spend time with him. Two, there was Faith who was being a little too nice, and knew about Angel, and had to be watched to make sure she wasn't up to something. And then there was Scott, who asked her.

"Scott hasn't asked you has he?" Kennedy asked as she took a seat next to Buffy. She could tell that the girl was off in her own world, probably having to due with whatever her and her sister were hiding and refused to talk about when she asked, but she wanted the slayer to have a little bit of fun, and enjoy hanging out with her friends, even if the topic wasn't so fun.

"He might still ask you to be his date, just give him the--" seeing that everyone was looking past her, Willow figured that she should stop, "he's right behind me isn't he?" she smiled nervously and sunk in her chair.

"For a while now," said Oz.

Kennedy put her arm around Buffy and scooted closer to her, "hey all I know," she said to Scott who was looking at her oddly, "is that I don't have a date," then she looked Buffy in the eyes, "and I might just have to ask you if Scott here doesn't get he balls," she knew that the guy wasn't used to such talk, but that only made her want to say it even more. In her opinion, he was too quiet and shy, there was no excitement. Not that she could see anyways.

Buffy moved Kennedy's arm from around her, "that's not awkward," she said sarcastically. It always amazed her how much Kennedy and Faith were alike. Both of them did what they wanted, said what they wanted, and neither one of them really cared what anyone else thought.

Willow looked over to Kennedy who was now grinning towards the blonde, "really, you'd ask Buffy?" she asked. She couldn't imagine Buffy actually going to homecoming with Kennedy, not only because of the fact that Buffy was straight, even though that was sometimes doubtful when she was with Faith, but also because she always thought if Kennedy was going to date anyone in Sunnydale, it would be her somehow.

"I think it was a joke Will," Oz said noticing the look in his girlfriend's eyes, the one that said she actually cared who Kennedy went to the dance with, but he pushed it into the back of his mind. Willow was just asking to ask, not because she cared….right?

Xander was also grinning, "Kennedy's sense of humor is one that I can understand…and fanaticize about."

Kennedy patted the boy on the shoulder, "that-- was awkward, but I'm glad you can appreciate my jokes. Now Scott, you gonna take her before I do?" she asked getting back to her way of intimidating the shy boy into asking Buffy to homecoming, it was taking a little more then she had expected, but she was willing to go as far as possible.

Dumbfound by the conversation that revolved around him and Buffy, Scott just stood there for a minute, then he looked at Buffy, "I just assumed you'd think it's stupid, but if you want to go--"

"I'll go if you wanna go," Buffy said as she turned to him, "do you wanna go?"

"Only if you want to--"

"Oh god," Kennedy said rolling her eyes, "she wants to go."

Scott smiled, "okay then, we'll go. Do you want another drink?" he asked not really thinking to look at the full cups, he was too nervous to pay attention to anything other then the girl that he was standing next to.

"Um, no," she stood up, "I actually gotta go, I'll see you later," she gave him a quick kiss and then took off. Once again, she felt herself wondering what Angel was doing, which is what usually happened when she was with Scott, and then came the thoughts about whether Faith was anywhere around, or watching Angel like a hawk. Something within her told her that Faith wasn't with Angel though, that maybe the girl was close by. Still, she wanted to see Angel, and so she did.

When Buffy was out of sight and Scott decided to stop standing by the table like an idiot, Faith went and sat down next to her sister, "what's up guys?" she asked. Kennedy just looked at her with a smile on her face, "what's wrong with you Junior."

"First sign of hiding something…you calling me Junior," Kennedy moved closer, looking her sister right in the eyes, "did you wait for Buffy to leave and then come over here?" she had noticed that the two slayers were doing the whole cat and mouse for a couple of days, both of them magically showing up just as the other one left, and vise versa. This time she wanted to know what was really going on instead of getting some lame excuse for them never wanting to hang out with everyone at the same time.

Everyone at the table looked over at her, making her shift, "what are you talking about?" she asked nervously, "why would I do that?" for the first time she was able to keep her usual cool composure, not when it came to Buffy anyways.

"You tell me," the younger of the two said with an evil smile, "unless it's too personal for you to talk about," personal wasn't even the way to describe it. She knew that for once her sister was having real feelings for someone, and she just wasn't willing to admit it. Not to herself, or anyone else.

"Oh brother," Cordelia said as she rolled her eyes. She grabbed Xander's arm, "let's go dance."

He looked back as he was being pulled away, "but, I wanna know what she's hiding too," but Cordelia just ignored him and kept pulling him along.

Faith laughed, "well, unless you want to talk about something personal about yourself," she could see her sister backing down immediately, that evil smile fading, "I suggest you back off little sis…got it?" she made a small nod in Willow's direction, and winked.

"Loud and clear," Kennedy said as she moved back over. She looked at Willow for a second, them meeting each other's gaze, and then she took a swallow of her drink. Faith got up suddenly, catching her attention, "you leaving already?" she asked. She was use to the whole cat and mouse thing, but not the both of them running out like there was some kind of emergency else where.

"Yeah, got somewhere to go," Faith said simply, not really in the mood to explain herself. She knew where Buffy was heading, the blonde slayer went there every night, and every night she'd watch from afar just to make sure that the other slayer was safe.

"Can I tag along?" Kennedy asked desperately wanting to get away. She hinted over to Willow and Oz who were now whispering to each other, "I need to get rid of some energy I've got pumping?"

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood to make sure you don't get killed," knowing full well that her sister had been playing games with her since she sat down, Faith left without feeling any sort of sympathy for her sister. She was, after all, going through the same thing, but she didn't have someone out there waiting for her like Kennedy did, she didn't have anyone else.

Kennedy watched her sister walk away, "did I mention how much I hate you?" she looked over at the whispering couple, and then stood up, "gee, I need a re-fill…I'm just gonna…" she pointed to her cup and then walked off unable to watch the two of them. It was really jealousy, well not completely, it just sort of hurt to just sit back and watch, especially when she knew she could make the red head happier.

As Oz whispered something to her, Willow watched the girl walk away, wishing that she could be leaving too, but she knew that it wouldn't be right. No matter what reason she could have come up with, it would have been a lie, and she cared about Oz too much to lie to him anymore then she already was, so she just watched her instead. Once again not with the person she really wanted to be, first it had been Xander who wanted Buffy, and now it was Kennedy who was already taken, and she was taken as well.

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Just as Buffy was going to open the curtains to the mansion, to let herself in, they flew open, Angel standing only inches away from her. They stood for a moment, both not knowing whether they really wanted to move away or not, but eventually Angel did move, he turned his back to her.

"You look better today," she said as she held a paper bag that had blood inside for him to drink. He did look much better, not as much shaking and twitching, but she could still see that he wasn't completely there. Sometimes he'd just stare off into space, and forget she was there.

"It hurts…less today," he said without turning to look at her.

"Good," she sat down the blood, "I just want you to be okay…so much has changed since--I'm a senior now. Hell, I'm even thinking of college, and…I'm seeing someone," she had been wanting to say that for a while, but just didn't know how to bring it up. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with Angel, she just knew it was for the best, at least at the moment, for them to not get together again. And because of how much she had been visiting him, she felt the need to clear that up.

He turned to her suddenly making her jump back, he took a step back when he saw the fear in her eyes, "Faith?"

Buffy frowned, "what? No. Why would you…" she stopped mid-sentence, not really knowing what to say to that. Kennedy made jokes about it all the time, which she responded to with her own joke about Willow, but when it came to Angel she just didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected to hear him say anything like that, especially since the only times she had heard anything about it, it was presented as a joke.

He shrugged, "it's just…the other night, I woke up and you guys were all--"

"I'm not dating Faith," she blurted trying to cut him off, knowing full well what he was going to say, "I'm dating a guy, his name is Scott, and he makes me happy. I need that right now…someone that makes me happy," they both knew what that meant. That them being together came with more baggage then anything, and she simply needed something, someone, that didn't put her in that situation.

"Oh," he said under his breath.

"I haven't told anyone about you being here, not Giles, or Willow…no one," she said deciding to change the subject, the dating conversation obviously not going well, "they wouldn't understand that you've changed…and I'm not sure how they'd react."

"But you told Faith, the one who tried to kill me a year ago," he said slightly angry, but he made sure to control himself, and his jealousy of both Faith and Scott. Him and Buffy had gone through so much together, it was hard to hear that she was dating someone else, it still hurt to not be fully with her.

She laughed, also a little angry, "no actually, she figured it out herself…I'm just gonna go," they had argued about Faith once before, and how she was always popping up out of nowhere, and each time it would end with her leaving. There was no way that she was going to stand there and listen to him talk crap about the one person that is always there for her, flaws in all. It was Faith who had figured out that she was hiding something, not Xander, or Willow, or Giles--Faith. The girl hadn't blown a gasket either, she didn't go off on her about him maybe being dangerous, she just stuck around to make sure he wasn't, and did whatever she could to help. So no, there was no way she was going to listen to Angel bad mouth her.

"Fine," he said as she started to walk away, "I'm tired anyways."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

"Next," the photographer yelled as she looked at the line of high school students. It was picture day and Sunnydale high, and she had been there all morning, listening to the whining, and the 'oh can I take another one', for the last three hours. Now she was ready to go, "are you Cordelia Chase?"

"That's me," she hoped onto the stool, smiled her best smile, and them got down, "was that good?"

The woman rolled her eyes, "another prom queen," the girl said something, something she didn't care about, so she went to the next name on the list, "Alexander Harris," she looked up to see a boy already sitting on the stool, "you are Alexander right?"

"Actually, it's Xander, but yeah that's me," he watched her move closer to the camera, and then grinned for his picture, it was more goofy then sexy.

The woman motioned for him to move, "thank god I'll never see that goofy grin again, and people say I make weird faces," she picked up her list again, "next up is a Willow Rosenberg," a red headed girl came and sat down, then she smiled, just sitting and staring at the camera. This was different, the first student to actually just smile normally without making comments, but she was to tired and frustrated to care, "no that's not it…" when the girl looked at the camera confused and leaning forward, she took the picuter, "perfect. Next!" this time it was a boy with short, spiked, orange hair, "I remember you from last year," he just sat there without any expression, so she took the picture, "hopefully I won't see you again," she leaned over and noticed that there was something funny happening with her camera, "are you fucking kidding me. Um hold on…" she looked at her list, "Kennedy, I'll be with you in a second, this damn camera…I told them to get me a new one I said…"

As the woman continued to rant about her problems, Kennedy took the time to check her out, she had nothing better to do. The woman was young, early twenties from the way she looked. She had black hair that was sloppily pulled back into a bun with strands hanging down over her face, black small squared glasses, tanned skin, and she was dressed in a tight black shirt and black slacks, "not bad," the girl said to herself as the woman continued to mess with her equipment.

From the side of the line, Willow noticed that Kennedy was staring at something. She had been watching the girl the whole time, just staring, waiting to see what smile she would give. Then she realized how long it was taken for the picture to be taken, and that Kennedy was fixed on something, so she moved to see what it was. Kennedy was checking out the photographer, and obviously enjoying what she was seeing, 'what's taking so long?' she wondered out of jealousy.

"What ya looking at?" Xander asked when he noticed the expression on his friend's face. He looked over at Kennedy, "oh she's spotting her next target, do you think she'll pull it off?" he asked excitedly.

Willow looked at him angrily, and so he just went back to stand next to Cordelia, who was now looking as well, "oh my god, she's such a guy…fifty bucks says she gets a number."

"Okay, I'm sorry about that," the photographer said as she got ready to take the picture. She looked up at the girl and found herself a little taken back, blown away by the girl's smile, her brown eyes, her tanned skin, her beautiful hair, all of it just made her feel a little light headed, "Kennedy right?" she asked as she extended her hand.

"Oh yeah, " Kennedy leaned forward, letting one of her feet touch the ground, and shook the woman's name, "sorry, I didn't catch your name," she said with a small grin, wanting to ease her way into her master plan. It had been a while since she hit on someone, she just wanted to make sure she wasn't too forward.

"It's Sarah," she looked the girl over again, "so you're a senior?"

Xander laughed, "and she's off and on the hunt. She's definitely got this one."

Willow just stood there, wanting so badly to go over and yell at Kennedy for being so inconsiderate of her feelings, but then how could she do that when she hadn't even told the girl how she felt. She wasn't even sure herself what it all meant, so she definitely didn't feel like she had the right to want Kennedy to be either with her or alone. Then she remembered something, "doesn't she have a girlfriend?"

"If she does, she doesn't act like it," Oz said as he kind of enjoyed the fact that if Kennedy did have a girlfriend and was making a move on some random woman, then she looked bad for doing so. For the first time, there was something that didn't make her look like an angel that just happened to be flirtatious. There was a look in her eyes that said she was looking for more then a little flirting session, "that sucks for her girlfriend."

"Yeah, it does," the red head said simply.

Kennedy finally came back over to the group, but when they went to ask her something, obviously about the photographer, she held up her hand just high enough to see and counted down from five, 'five…four…three…two…one.'

"Kennedy," Sarah called as she went over to the girl.

Happy to see that she hadn't lost her magic touch, Kennedy smiled at her friends for a moment, and then turned around, "was there some sort of problem with the camera?" she asked pretending to be innocent, "I can take another picture if you…"

"No, there was no problem," she pulled reached for the girl's hand, slipped a piece of paper in it, and then leaned over to her ear, "that's my number. Call me," with a smile, she walked away and went back to what she was doing.

When she saw that the woman was fully back into her work, Kennedy turned around to her friends, "I am so good," she said with a smile, "too bad I won't be able to call her."

Xander gasped, "what? Why?" mostly he was bummed that he wouldn't be able to pry details out of her later, but he was still a little shocked by it. The last time Kennedy had stayed in Sunnydale, when she wasn't with Willow, she was off with a different girl every night, and trying really hard to keep it from Willow.

"I have a girlfriend," she put the paper in her pocket, "but if I didn't…man. She just seemed like she could use some cheering up…don't think me not calling her will do her any good, but at the moment she is happy, and so there you go. Another job well done."

Willow sighed in relief, as Kennedy and the others started to walk off. She had been worried that maybe Kennedy had changed in some not so good ways over the past year, but she was the same Kennedy she remembered. The one that would never want to hurt the people she cared about, and that made her happy. She started to walk too, but then ran into Xander and Cordelia who were staring at a group of people, "who we lookin at?"

Oz put his arm around Willow and pulled her up to look, "they're all running up against Cordelia for homecoming."

"Look at her," Cordelia said, talking about some blonde girl in the middle of a group of guys, "Michelle Blake; open to all man kind, especially those with a letterman jacket and car."

"That's true," Kennedy said nodding. Everyone looked at her, "what? I have a car. Nothing happened, I'm taken remember?"

"I don't think that counts for you…I meant that in a way of saying that you get around, not because you're gay," Cordelia said trying to clear the air a bit after her iffy comment, but she felt it was best to talk about something else entirely, "where's Buffy?"

"Her and Faith are getting all sweaty in the library," Xander answered with a grin.

Kennedy hit him in the arm, "hey, that's my sister you're fantasizing about," she hit again making him a squeal.

Cordelia frowned, "they're training this early? Did she even take her yearbook pic yet?"

"No, but we can go and get her," Xander said as he already began to drool.

"I'll do it," Cordelia said sternly, "I'm headed that way anyways," she gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek and headed towards the library.

"Oh Xander," Willow said as she hooked arms with her friend, she waited for Kennedy and Oz to walk a little ahead, "I was wondering if you could come by my house later to help me pick out a something to wear to homecoming, I want to where something that will make Oz go 'oh'."

"Yeah sure, I need to try on my tux anyways. I'm sure I'll look great…if I got the right size, tux measuring is so complicated. Why can't they stick to the usual small, medium, large scale? I like that scale."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Faith stood up steadily with her hands up as Buffy hit the punch pads on them. After a while she had noticed that it had become more of a 'take out all your anger' session, then just simple training, and her hands began to hurt, "man people should break up with you more often," she said as the blonde stopped punching and started to unwrap her hands.

"Uh, thanks," she said in response to the other slayers comment, it wasn't shocking that Faith saw it as a way to be a better fighter, and there was no use trying to say anything that sounded remotely like a speech so she just went along with it, "I guess," she said as she walked towards a desk where her bag and stuff was.

Faith followed Buffy, wanting to explain her reasoning behind what she was saying without sounding like a nut, but she did believe that rage made a better fighter, "no, I mean it. You really got some quality rage goin, it really gives you an edge."

"Edge girl, just what I always wanted to be," she pulled on her jacket and then relaxed against the desk, as Faith moved to sit on it. It had been a while since they had hung out, and it was obvious that they were treading lightly, but she couldn't help but feel glad to hang out with the girl again. To have some time away from everything else for just a bit, even if it did include some awkwardness.

"Screw him. You move on, party heavily, and you'll be fine. You're still going to that dance right?" Buffy sort of just mumbled something as she took a sip of her drink, "you already bought the tics, why don't we go together."

"I don't know about that," Buffy said nervously. She had figured that it would come to that eventually, that they'd end up bringing some questionable stuff up, but she always figured it'd be in a more serious moment, not one that had to do with a dance, "it's just that…you know…the other night when--"

"Look B," Faith said cutting the other slayer off, "there's no need to bring up…stuff. It's just a dance, no big deal, I think we can manage. We can pick up some studs," the other girl laughed, "what?"

"Nothing, it's just that no one says studs…except you of course," she said with a smile. Those were the types of things she missed, just moments when everything was fine, and happened to be funny. Faith always seemed to make that happen, even if she didn't mean to, "let me guess you were gonna say something about having a little fun with these 'studs', and then dumping them off somewhere?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"I guess it could be fun," Buffy said as she really wondered if she wanted to go or not, "not the stud part…or maybe, I don't know," she started to wonder what Angel was going to be doing. So what they had gotten into a fight, that didn't mean she couldn't think about him. The only problem is she forgot to switch off of Angel thoughts when in the same room with Faith, she always seemed to know when her mind wandered to that subject, and by the look she was giving at the moment, Buffy knew that she had already been found out, "I was just…"

"Oh, I know what you were thinking," Faith said as she took a swallow of her drink, "and no."

"No?" she frowned, "I didn't even ask a question."

"No, you are not going to go and sit around with Mr. Moper of the year when you could actually be out having fun," she got down from the desk and pulled Buffy to the middle of the library, "now come on, let's finish training so I can get out of here and find me something to wear."

"Fine, you win," the decision was made, she was going to go to homecoming, and she was going to let herself have some fun. 'Even if it is with a girl that just happened to--' her thought were cut off by Faith throwing a punch at her which she ducked under, "hey I wasn't ready."

"I'm sorry but, you don't have time to daydream in the field," she knew what the girl was thinking about, it was written all over her face, but Faith wanted it to go away. She wished it wouldn't of happened at all, 'things would've been so much--' she blocked a kick, cutting her thoughts off, "hey!"

"The rules apply to both of us last time I checked," Buffy said with a smile, then they went on with their training, both trying to keep the other only thinking of what was happening in the moment and nothing else.

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"I can't believe my favorite teacher didn't even remember," Buffy said as she sat with her friends at lunch, minus Cordelia who was passing out flyers, and of course Faith who wasn't really aloud to set foot on campus. Just as Snyder had told her, she went to get a letter from a teacher that said that she should be aloud to stay at Sunnydale High, in fact, she had asked her favorite teacher, but unfortunately Miss. Miran had no idea who she was, "she remembered Faith, but not me? What's that?"

"Well, she is kinda hard to forget," Willow said as she continued to stare at her tray of food, unable to eat it for some reason, "she did try to stab a teacher once."

Buffy remembered that day, and having to carry/drag, Faith out of the class. It had all been over a failed test, one that Faith had actually studied for, and she felt that the teacher just failed her because she would 'fuck him', to quote her exact words, "Miss. Miran remembered her in a positive way, not in a 'you almost killed a staff member' way. At Henry, I was prom princess, I was fiesta queen, I was on the cheerleading squad…"

"Hmm," Kennedy picked up her fork, "I was rebel. Probably one of the people that fun of like you," she started to jab the girl in the side, making her laughing.

"Good thing I'm a nobody now, or we'd have some problems," while she was still laughing, she took the plastic fork, broke it half and tossed at Kennedy, who seemed very amused by the smile on her face, "but seriously guys, at my old school the yearbook was like a story of me, now I'm just gonna be a crappy picture on one-eighth of one crappy page."

"Actually you won't be that either," Xander mumbled as he too played with his food, his mind really else where, catching only small pieces of what the blonde was saying. He felt Kennedy kick him under the table, that he did notice, "ouch, I would like to have a leg that works, okay."

Unsatisfied with his reaction, she had her own response, "I wish your mouth would stop working, maybe I should kick you there instead," she said it playfully, but she knew that he would at least take it a little seriously, therefore keeping his mouth shut. To her, it was a friends job to make sure another friend was happy, or at least trying to have a good time, but no one but her seemed to really be trying to keep the blonde in high spirits.

"What do you mean I won't be that either?" Buffy asked with a slight pout.

"Well, you missed the picture taking…and Kennedy hitting on the photographer, it was quite a show," he felt another kick, "again, I say ouch."

Buffy started to panic at the thought that her entire existence was reduced down to mere student, nothing special, just a student, "when? Why?"

"We did them yesterday," Oz said nonchalantly.

"Didn't Cordelia tell you?" Willow asked.

Kennedy laughed, "I knew there were more reasons to call her a bitch…number two-hundred-fifty-one…she's self-centered."

Willow smiled, "I think you already have that one," she didn't want to sound like she hung on the girl's every word, so she added the 'I think' part, but really she knew that Kennedy had said it before. Earlier that morning actually just before the first bell rung, and they had walked to class together. She had said it because Cordelia was asking everyone to help her with the homecoming thing, even after Kennedy said she had a test to study for. The busy bitch just told her that her trying to win homecoming was a little more important then one test, and voila, Kennedy said the whole self-centered thing. Though she did actually have a test, because they all, meaning Xander, Buffy, Cordelia, her and Kennedy, had that same class together, she actually ended up sleeping through it, and Willow filled out the answers for her.

"What's on your mind?" Oz asked as he noticed that his girlfriend was staring off into space.

She shrugged, "nothing much, just worried about the test I had earlier," she said lying through her teeth, she knew she had aced it.

"Shit, I slept through that whole thing," Kennedy said as she remembered how hard the test looked and decided to nap instead, "by the time I woke up, the teacher had collected them already…that's what we call a big fat zero. I totally bombed it. Unless…" she looked over at Willow who was staring at her attentively, "someone happened to do the test for me."

Oz looked at Willow, "you cheated for her?"

"It's actually what I like to call, helping out a friend," the brunette said when she sensed the anger in what Oz had asked, "sometimes when a friend needs help, people actually do something about it."

"Yeah, and sometimes, when a friend knows that it might cost their friend something, say like their perfect track of straight A's, or their clean recordl, they tell them never mind, and actually attempt to take care of their own problems," both of them glared at each other, furious at the other's incapability to understand the other's reasoning.

Xander, also noticing the rising tension, stood up from his seat, "I'm gonna get more juice," he said as he left the table.

Willow just sat there, staring between the two of them. She could understand what the both of them were saying, and why they were saying it, but if she didn't pick a side she knew there would be some sort of consequence, and if she didn't there would still be a conflict, so she just sat there. It had been a while since they had acted this way towards each other, since the week Kennedy had arrived actually, and she had thought that it was done and over with, seeing that she was still with Oz, but now she could see that she was wrong. It would never be resolved until she herself figured everything out. It's not like she usually cheated for people, and Oz knew that, but then again, she cared to much about Kennedy to just sit back and watch her fail.

"The gang has a new mission," Buffy said as she approached the table. She also noticed the tension but she was too fired up to really acknowledge it, " we are going to kick Cordelia's sorry ass, and we're gonna make me homecoming queen."

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That night, Faith and Kennedy decided that they'd spend some quality sister time by going out to The Bronze without the gang that they had been sucked into.. Both of them had had a long day, mostly consisting on awkward moments, or moments of conflict, and were in a desperate need of just having some fun. Every week, since they had come back, they'd go do something together. Whether it be patrolling, hanging out a bar, The Bronze, or just hanging out at Buffy's when no one was home, they found some time to spend together. This night, they were at The Bronze sitting at the bar area, Faith knew someone that could get them drinks but they had to be discrete , meaning they couldn't be walking around with alcohol in their cups, taking the risk of getting caught, so they were laying low.

"So how was school today?" the slayer asked mockingly, she knew that Kennedy just went to school for the hell of it, not because she actually cared, "was it great fun? Did you get an A on your test?"

"Actually I did," Kennedy said making her sister choke on her drink, "but I might have had a little help," just thinking about Willow made her feel warm inside. The thought of her smile, her laugh, her weird way of talking, and the babbling--that really made her miss old times of just them hanging out.

Faith could tell that her sister was thinking of the red head that was untouchable at the moment, "when's Rachel getting here?" she asked as a way to remind her that she was taken anyways, "you said she was coming in a couple of days, that was like a week ago."

"She has tests this week so she's gonna have to come a bit later," the thought of Rachel made her feel different as well, but in a more sexual way then a mere liking sort of way. She did want Willow, but her attraction to the red head was so much deeper then the physical, it was something she couldn't even give a name, whereas her relationship with Rachel was more of a lust thing. They liked each other, but it didn't really go any further then that, "speaking of girls that we want to see, what's up with you and Buffy?"

"Shut it," was all she said, there was no way that she was going to talk about Buffy when she was trying to just relax, because then it would be impossible. She always had time to think about the blonde slayer, this was time not to think about her, "you know what time it is?" she asked as she turned to face the crowd.

"Oh no, we're not doing this," Kennedy said as she followed her sister's movement and faced the crowd. Since it was a school night, and test week, there were mostly older people there. People in their twenties instead of their teens.

"I think it's time that we have a friendly family bet, don't you?" she picked up her beer, and took a swig as she examined the crowd, trying hard to find the perfect pick. Usually she'd pick a guy, and it would of course go in her favor, but that night she wanted to make the game a little easier. She spotted a girl dancing in the crowd, she had black hair, green eyes, and a great body from what could be seen, "that's our girl."

She followed her sister's gaze, "hmm, we're playing fair tonight," she said slightly amused. It was rare that her sister even picked someone that she would want to go after, but the girl that they were looking at was definitely a good choice. In fact, Kennedy realized that she knew her, it was the photographer from the day before, 'this could be interesting,' she thought to herself. But then something hit her, if her sister was picking a girl, and a hot one at that, she had reason, and the reason was more obvious then she thought, 'she's curious,' she said to herself as she put her beer down, "what are the stakes?"

"Whoever wins picks out what the other wear's to homecoming," Faith said as she prepared herself.

Kennedy nodded, "you got yourself a deal," she took one more swig of her beer, "I'll go first," without any sort of send off from her sister, which always consisted of some cocky statement, Kennedy headed off into the crowd. Instead of just going up to Sarah, she started dancing close to her, making sure to rub up against her to get her attention.

It took a minute, but then the woman realized who she was dancing with, "Kennedy right?" she asked over the loud music, "you didn't call me," she said it with a smile on her face, knowing that the girl had only really done what she had done to make her feel better after her crappy morning, "but I forgive you."

"Good," the brunette said as she continued to dance, "see the thing is, I have a girlfriend, and we're not in any sort of open relationship, so I can't really start anything with anyone."

"I see. Then why are you dancing with me…and rubbing up against me?"

"Me and my sister have a little bet going," she looked over at her sister and flashed a smile so she wouldn't be suspicious, which Faith just rolled her eyes at, "and you're in the center of it."

"Me?" the woman asked.

"That's right. Whoever can, you know, get with you, wins the bet," she turned to face the woman, and wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling her closer, "but you see, I think my sister deserves it more. She's in sort of a bind with a chick that doesn't really give her what she 'needs'," she rose her eyebrows and winked, "you know what I'm saying?"

"I think I do," she pulled Kennedy closer to her, "you are going to let her win, in hopes that I'll have sex with her."

"That's the idea," she said honestly, "I think she's a little curious because she likes the chick I mentioned, but she doesn't want to admit it. She thinks it's just a sex thing, but I don't think it's that simple. I just need you to prove it to her by giving her the opportunity to have the most mind blowing sex ever," she turned around quickly, pushing her back into the woman's torso, "that's her standing at the bar pretending not to be looking."

Sarah looked over at Faith, "she's hot."

"So you'll do it then?" Kennedy asked hoping that she'd hear a yes.

"Sure, what the hell, it's a opportunity to get laid, and she's hot, so I don't see any harm in it," Sarah turned the girl around, "I owe you one anyways so this is how I'll repay you…by sleeping with your sister," they both laughed at the situation, and then Kennedy disappeared off into the crowd, turning sometimes to give a playful grin.

"How'd it go?" Faith asked as her sister worked her way back over, "that doesn't look like the face of a girl that could get laid."

Kennedy took a deep breath, "she said I was too young for her," she could see that her sister was a little shocked, that maybe the wasn't prepared to actually have to go out there and try to win, but Kennedy had made sure that her sister would have to go and at least try, and she knew the outcome as well, "looks like you're up."

She hesitated for a moment, and then got up, sporting her sexiest grin, "hope you like mini-skirts cause that's what you'll be wearing."

"Whatever, she might turn you down too," she watched as her sister made her way through the crowd over to Sarah, "I am so good," the two women started dancing and she knew her job was done so she left a tip at the bar and then walked out of the club. As she walked she had the strangest feeling that someone was following her, she put her hand on the switchblade she carried around, and then turned around suddenly, slamming whoever it was against the wall with her blade at their neck, but when she had time to focus no who it was, she was shocked by who she saw, "Dawn?"

"Heya Kennedy," the girl said nervously, she looked down at the blade, "you mind putting that away?"

Seeing that she had scared the girl, Kennedy put her blade away and took a step back, "what are you doing here?" she asked angrily, "you're not even old enough to get in, and if you're mom knew--oh my god, she's going to kick me out. I'm a bad influence. You're sneaking out of the house, partying with older people, almost getting your throat sliced. How'd you even get here?"

"I was in your backseat," the girl said as if she did nothing wrong, "and I wasn't partying with older people, I only got out a second ago, and then when I did go in, I just watched you guys try and get that black haired girl try to sleep with you. Can't believe you lost that bet by the way."

"I didn't," Kennedy said as she took out her keys and headed towards her car, "I let her win, now get in."

Dawn got in the car, sensing some of the other girl's anger, "sorry, I just didn't want to stay home tonight, and you were leaving…it was stupid, I shouldn't of snuck out."

"All you had to do was ask if you could come," Kennedy looked over at Dawn, "I know what it's like to be the sister that doesn't matter, at least not compared to a slayer, if you want to escape just let me know so I can at least keep you safe while you're out. What if something would've happened to you? I wouldn't have known because I thought you were at your house asleep."

"You're right, I know, but I didn't think that you'd take me anywhere, I mean Buffy never does," she said sadly.

"I'm not Buffy, If you want to just hang out and have some fun, let me know and I'll take you somewhere," she started the car, "why don't we go over to Willow's, her and Xander are trying on stuff to wear for homecoming…that should be entertaining."

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"What about this one?" Willow asked as she stepped from behind her Chinese room divider wearing a black dress. She had been trying on clothes for hours, all while Xander was figuring out his suit, and she hoped that she had finally found the right dress, "is it good?"

He looked over at her, "wow, you look great," he said blown away. For the first time, he realized how beautiful Willow was. After all the years of knowing her, he could finally see it in her emerald green eyes, her pale silky skin, flaming red hair, "really great."

"Yeah you do," Kennedy said as she walked in, "hey, I know I didn't exactly get an invite but I couldn't pass up a moment of you guys all worried about how you look," she looked Willow over again, "but I see that it's not going to be as entertaining as I thought…you look amazing."

Dawn pushed her way past Kennedy so she could see, "wow Will, you look great," she said with a smile, then she looked over to Kennedy who was just standing there staring, and gave her a little nudge, "is it okay if we hang out for a bit…? Since we weren't invited or anything."

"Sure," Willow said as she stopped herself from staring at Kennedy, "if you want to stay," she said nervously.

"Great," Dawn nodded, it was apparent that everyone was either staring at Willow, or just brain dead, "um yeah, do you have any ice-cream or anything?"

"Nope," the red head said simply, "but I'm sure we have something sweet somewhere in the kitchen. Why don't you take her to look Xander," she suggested. Though she knew it wasn't such a good idea for her to be alone with Kennedy, she couldn't help but want to, and this time she wasn't going to do anything to make sure it didn't happen, she was going to make it happen.

By the look his best friend was giving Kennedy, Xander could see that they were really just trying to get him out of the room, "sure I'll take her, maybe I'll find something to eat too," he put his hand on Dawn's shoulder and they walked out, "ah the joy of being kicked out of a room."

"It's my everyday life," Dawn said as she reached back and closed the door.

After a minute of just standing and staring at one another, Kennedy decided that it was up to her to break the silence, "now we just have to perfect your dancing," she said teasingly, "if I remember right, you are the one that has trouble slow dancing," slowly, she walked over to the other girl, sliding her hands onto her waist, "you want to give it a try?"

Without answering, Willow put her hands around Kennedy's neck, and they slowly started to move, "you're good at this," she said as she began to stare at the girl's lips. She could see that they were moving, could hear a low buzzing, which she figured was Kennedy talking, but she couldn't understand it. She couldn't stop staring at her lips, and the feeling of the girl's hands on her waist making her feel light headed.

Kennedy noticed what the red head was staring at, what they were both longing for, and she almost leant forward, she almost let herself feel what she had dreamed of for so long, but something stopped her. She took her hands off of the girl's waist, and then took a step back, "I think you're good," she said as she went towards the door, "I'm just gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay," once the door was closed, Willow sat down on her bed, "this isn't going to get any easier."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

The next day at school, the gang was in the library staring at a massive white board with all the girl's that Buffy was going up against for homecoming, Cordelia being the main opponent. Willow, Xander, and Oz were sitting on a table, while Kennedy and Faith stood behind them looking at the blonde like she was insane.

"So what am I here for?" Faith asked.

Buffy frowned, "for support," the brunette made a face, not buying it, "and for any necessary dirty work. Now, the rest of you…Xander, I need you to make me some flyers. Willow, I need you to make me a database, so I can know what I need to do. Oz, you're with the whole music scene, try and get some of them on my side. Kennedy…" Cordelia walked into the library with a not so happy look on her face, "I know this is awkward, but we're almost friends, I think we can manage to get along."

"Fine," she folded her arms and looked at the other people in the room, "Xander, I'm going to need more flyers, and Willow I'm gonna need that database."

Xander stood up, "she's my girlfriend," he said guiltily, then he walked over to stand by Cordelia.

Willow stood up next, "she needs it more then you," she said, then she went over as well.

Last of all Oz stood up, "yeah, where Willow goes, so goes my nation."

With their heads low, all of them followed Cordelia out of the library, leaving their best friend staring as they did. After they were all gone, Buffy turned around to see that Faith and Kennedy were now sitting on the table, "at least you have us," Faith said as she put her arm around her sister, "Junior here can get you pretty much the whole teenage vote."

Kennedy looked at her sister, immediately noticing that she was called 'Junior', "I do have my ways."

"Great,"the blonde said sarcastically. Though she did appreciate that they were going to help, it still sucked not to have her best friends there with them, but she did decide to run kind of late, "I guess this might work," she said trying to being positive.

"But it's going to have to wait," Kennedy said as she got up, "I have a test I need to re-take, but I will be able to help later," she said to reassure the blonde that she would definitely help, "in the mean time, you two can figure some stuff out…about the campaign of course."

"Of course," Faith said sarcastically.

"Maybe you have a new story that you could tell," Kennedy said as she backed out of the library door, "maybe concerning where you were last night."

"Where were you last night?" Buffy asked. She had expected for the Faith to randomly pop up out of nowhere last night when she was out patrolling, but she didn't show up. It was strange, but Buffy no longer like to really patrol alone, it wasn't the same without having someone with her, and by someone she meant Faith. At least then she'd have someone to talk to; to joke around with; to have fun with.

Faith watched her sister walk out, a grin plastered on her face, and then she turned to Buffy, "I went out."

"Oh," the blonde said knowing exactly what 'meant out', really meant, "did you meet anyone?" she asked. In her mind, she could hear a voice telling her that she didn't really want to know what the other slayer had been doing last night, but she couldn't help but wonder.

"Are you asking if I got laid?"

She laughed, "if you want to be blunt, yes, but if you don't want to answer…"

"No, I'll answer the question," Faith said knowing if she didn't it'd be sort of unlike her, that Buffy would be able to see right through it anyways, "let's just say that I got something out of my system…just to keep it simple."

"I see," she knew exactly what the other slayer meant by saying she got something out of her system. That Faith had actually slept with a girl, not a guy, and she knew why, "Faith you didn't have to do that just to…you know, deal with--" she tried to bring herself to say it, but she just couldn't, because saying it would make it real.

Faith could see that Buffy was really trying to say it, to admit what happened, but she could also see that the girl wasn't ready to, and that she might never be ready, "yeah, I did actually, and that's exactly why. I needed to do something to get rid of this…weirdness, and I did, so you can relax, there's no need to be all awkward when we're alone together. Now let's get to work, we don't want to give the bitch more of a head start."

"Okay, let's get started."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

After days of endless days of passing out flyers, bribing, and 'accidents' that ended in getting someone's vote, Buffy thought it was time to use one of her resources to make sure was doing okay. This resource, at least of the day, was Willow, the one who had the database with all the answers. To get the info, and assure that she wouldn't be caught 'cheating', she brought Kennedy along with her…which she also knew would be more of a reason for the red head to give up the goods.

"Hey," the slayer said casually as her and Kennedy approached the red head, both with their game faces on. There was no way they were going to let that bitch Cordelia beat them at anything.

Willow smiled nervously, "hi. How are you? You good? You look good," she said fumbling over her own words. The look the both of them were giving her was making her very uncomfortable, but one thing she did know was that she was going to have to stand strong…for as long as she could.

"She's hitting on you," Kennedy said with a smirk. She knew she was playing dirty, messing with the red head's incapability to figure out her sexuality, but at the moment she figured she could use some of the heavy stuff, and just not push it too far.

"Kennedy, shush and be look out gal…over there," Buffy said as a horrified look formed on her best friends face. That was the one thing she didn't want to use to make Willow crack, not when she herself wasn't even sure what was going on with her own sexuality, "Willow you don't have to be all worried about this campaign thing, we're best friends, I'm not going to hold it against you."

"Yes you will," Kennedy mumbled as she leaned against the wall a couple of steps behind Buffy.

The redhead could already feel herself cracking, her voice slightly rising, "no, I'm not a friend. I'm a rapid dog who should be shot," she looked over at Kennedy, "not literally. But there are forces at work her--dark, incomprehensible forces."

"Oh yeah," she was ready to pull out her big guns, to hit the girl where it hurt, "I'm sure it's more important then all the stuff we've been through…and the number of times I've saved your life."

Willow frowned, "what do you want?" she asked feeling helpless, unable to fight it any longer.

"Fifteen minutes alone on your computer with Cordelia's database," she said quickly.

With a saddened face, Willow took her backpack off, "Okay."

Kennedy walked over to them as they stared at the screen, the red head already explaining the many things that Buffy did not understand, "I gotta go, it's Faith's shift, she should be here soon," she stood there for a second, looking down at Willow, then she took off, "bye guys."

"See ya," Buffy said without turning around, she kept her eyes on the screen, "what's that red thing mean?"

After sitting through Willow explaining what she needed to do, and for Faith to show up, Buffy was once again on the move. Looking for the next person to bring to her side of the poles, "oh, there's Jonathan," she grabbed Faith's arm and went over to the short boy, "cupcake?" she held out the large chocolate cupcake, only needing him to take to know that she probably had his vote. He took it from her and started to devour it, "you know Jonathan, I've always felt a special bond between me and you," she said as she put her arm around him, Faith just looked at her like she was crazy, "you know what I mean?"

He turned and looked at the blonde, "Cordelia gave me six bucks. That buys a whole lot of cupcakes," he said knowing that the blonde was going to have to top that to get his vote.

Buffy stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, she didn't have any cash on her, but before she could say anything Faith was already cooking up a way to save her, and get her a vote, "how bout, you vote for B here, and I'll be your date to homecoming."

Jonathan dropped his cupcake, shocked by what he had just heard, "you'll be my date to homecoming?"

"Sure why not," Faith said with a shrug, Buffy was the one giving the crazy looks now, "but I won't screw you, you'll have to find a way to deal with any sort of excitement on your own, got it?"

"Yeah sure," the boy said as he stared up at the brunette, "wow."

"Let's set some rules down," Faith said knowing that it had to be the first time that Jonathan had ever had a date to anything, "one, no touching…"

Buffy spotted Cordelia and went over to her angrily, "so you are giving out money."

Cordelia turned to look at the blonde, who had obviously not noticed, or didn't care about the fact that she had been busy when she approached, "yeah, and? Is that any worse then your faux 'I'm shy but deep' campaign?"

"Y-yes."

"This whole trying to be me thing really isn't funny anymore just to…"

Buffy laughed, "first of all, I've never tried to be like you and…when was it funny?" she asked as she realized what the other girl was saying, as if there was some sort of private joke that she had with herself for the past three years.

"I'm just saying that your pathetic way of trying to recapture your glory days gives you the right to splinter my vote," the brunette said angrily.

"How can you think it's okay to say stuff like that? Do you even have parents?" she couldn't believe what the other girl was saying. That she was being so bitchy about something like homecoming. Yeah, she wanted to win too, but Buffy couldn't imagine herself going as far as to say everything on her mind. There are some things you just don't say.

Despite the little whisper in the back of her mind telling her to stop, that she had gone far enough, Cordelia found herself ready to hit the girl in a sensitive spot, "yeah. Two of them…unlike some people."

Faith had noticed that Buffy and Cordelia were arguing but paid no attention to it, she just kept laying down the rules to Jonathan, making sure that he knew what he could and couldn't so. It's not like the two girls hadn't been fighting over the last week, every time they saw each other they'd either make comments, or give each other bad looks, but what the snooty bitch had just said caught her attention right away, "what did she just say?" she said out loud as she left Jonathan standing there. She headed over to where Buffy was just in time to see Cordelia about to reach and push her on the shoulder, but before the girl's hand reached the blonde, Faith caught it with her own hand, "I'd back off if I were you," she said with a threatening glare.

Cordelia pulled her hand back, "you're both sick, you know that?" she said as she stepped back.

"This bitch just doesn't stop," Faith said as she laughed slightly. She could not believe that the girl was acting like that just to get some plastic tiara.

Having heard the last comment, Willow, Xander, and Oz, went over to the three girls, the looks on their faces saying that something bad was about to happen. Xander went up and put his hands on Cordelia's shoulders, "okay, let's not say something we might regret later."

"You crazy freaks," Cordelia said not willing to give up just yet, not after the both of them had tried to insult her.

"Vapid whore!" Buffy yelled.

Xander grabbed his girlfriend's hands and pulled them behind her back to stop her from lunging at the two slayer, "like that," he said as he pulled her away.

"What did she call me?" Cordelia asked as she continued to try and get back over to the blonde, but eventually she realized that she couldn't get out of Xander's hold and just walked away with him.

Faith turned to Buffy with a smile, "that was a good one B, definitely something I would've used."

"Oh yeah, well I didn't hear you coming up with anything," the blonde said playfully, "I can think of good comebacks without you, you do know that right?"

"I just think that maybe I've rubbed off on you a bit," she started to say something, something that she probably would've regretted as soon as she said it, but a tight grip on her shoulder stopped her. Thinking that maybe Cordelia had gone crazy, she turned quickly, throwing a single punch, but it wasn't Cordelia that she had hit; it wasn't Cordelia that had a bloody nose.

"Holy shit!" Kennedy yelled as she put her hand on her nose, the pain shooting through her, "fuck.! What the hell Faith?"

"Oh, shit Kenn, I thought you were someone else. What the hell is up with you sneaking up on people? That's about the dumbest fucking thing you could do to a slayer," Faith said trying to shift the blame. She did feel bad, her sister was definitely going to feel that hit for a while but then again, she knew that of all things that her sister should know not to sneak up on her.

Willow, having seen the whole thing, ran over to Kennedy, "oh god," she could see that the bleeding hadn't stopped, "oh, lean your head back and hold your nose. Wow…you're bleeding a lot," she turned to Faith, "geez, you can't just punch people…you're a slayer, it might cause real damage."

"Everyone calm down, Kennedy's going to be fine," Buffy said as she went to look at the girl's nose, "it's not broken…it was kinda stupid to sneak up on Faith like that."

"Thank you," said Faith, "I'm glad that someone's on my side."

"She's jumpy," the blonde slayer went on to say.

"I am not jumpy," the other slayer said.

Ignoring the two slayers as they began to argue, Willow directed Kennedy to the bathroom to get some tissue, "why did you sneak up on Faith…she is sort of jumpy," once they were inside she grabbed a hand full of tissue and held it to the girl's nose until it stopped bleeding. Instead of answering the question, Kennedy held up a piece of paper. It was the test that she had re-taken, the one that Willow had done for her earlier, "you passed!"

"Barely," Kennedy said with a clogged nose voice. All of sudden, the red head threw her arms around her, catching her off guard, but then she returned the hug, "I couldn't take the risk of the teacher finding out and you getting in trouble," she pulled back and looked the girl in the face, "as much as I would've loved that A, you mean way more to m-" she was cut off by the feeling of the other girl's lips on her own, a softness she thought she'd never feel. She put her hands on the girl's waist, and took steps until Willow's back was against the bathroom wall, pushing herself into her. In her mind, she kept hearing stop, that they shouldn't be doing what they were doing, but she couldn't help herself; couldn't stop herself.

Willow was thinking the same thing, in between the 'wow, this is amazing' thoughts. Her mind was full of thoughts of how long she had been waiting for it to happen, to finally be able to let herself be taken away by the girl in front of her, but she had always figured that somehow Oz would be out of the picture. Like he'd vanish into thin air, no feeling there to possibly be hurt. That alone made her feel bad, but none of the bad feeling could compare to the good that she was feeling at the moment. The softness of the girl's lips, the feeling of her body pressed against her, 'oh my god', she thought as she felt Kennedy's mouth begin to open, 'it's with tongue, and her…her tongue is pierced?…wow.'

"Whoa," Faith said as she walked in to see the two of them kissing.

Willow pushed Kennedy away instantly, "we weren't uh…"

Faith put her hand up, "save it Red. I'm not aloud on campus, Snyder is in the hall, and I'm not blind," she said as she put her back against the door. She looked at her sister who was staring at her feet, "good thing Rachel isn't here. You know how she's attached to your hip when she's around…don't think she would've liked the show."

"Rachel," Kennedy said as she the impact of what she just did hit her. Despite all the things that she felt for Willow, one thing that she could not stand was a cheater, and now she had become one.

"That's right, your girlfriend," she looked over at Willow, "and Oz is waiting in the hall, just to let you know. Both of you are in those super dependant relationships."

"At least we don't stalk the people we like," Kennedy said angrily, "just back off Faith," she said in a more calm voice. She really didn't want to pull that card with her sister, especially since it was such a sensitive subject, "look I didn't…"

"No, it's cool," the slayer said understanding that she shouldn't of said anything to either one of them. Plus, Kennedy didn't really know everything that was going on with the other slayer so what she said didn't really matter. What looked like stalking to everyone else, was actually her making sure that Buffy didn't get hurt if Angel were to go crazy again, "to lighten the mood," she said with a smile, "I've picked out the perfect outfit for you to wear to homecoming."

Kennedy couldn't help but laugh at the fact that her sister was trying to make things better, "sorry to tell you sis, but that's not good news."

"She picked out what you're wearing to homecoming?" Willow asked, unable to stop from being sucked into the more cheery part of the whole situation. Yeah, she did get to kiss Kennedy, and it was amazing, but when she walked out of the bathroom, she'd be greeted by the boyfriend that she was supposed to be loyal to, and that was not such a happy thought.

Faith walked over to the two of them, "oh Kenn didn't tell you…she lost a little bet the other night," she winked at her sister, "and I'm thinking mini-skirt, and motorcycle boots," they all laughed, "but yeah I brought it with me, and I think we should all head on over to B's, and you should give a little show."

"That sounds so wrong coming from you, because we're sisters, and uh hell no. I already have to where it to homecoming, no one needs an early show of anything."

"What are we talking about?" Buffy asked as she walked in, she looked over at Willow, "why are you blushing?"

"I'm not," the red head said as she covered her cheeks.

The blonde nodded, "right," she turned to Faith, "Snyder's gone, you can come out now…out of the bathroom," she cleared her throat, "did you tell Kennedy about the show thing?" by the look on Kennedy's face she could see that the girl knew, and was being a little resistant, "oh come on Kennedy, we all need a little bit of cheering up, and some time to just relax and hang out."

"I just don't see why it has to revolve around me, but…" the two slayers looking at her with pleading eyes and small smiles, "I'll do it…as long as you two have a little conversation with me tomorrow night," their smiles faded, turning more into an angry face, "come on, it's only fair that I get something out of this too. Now both of you, do we have a deal?"

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

This is the worst thing that's every happened," Willow mumbled to herself as she stood in the corner of Buffy's living room. That kiss was still fresh in her mind, the way it felt; the way the girl smelt; the way she felt; how she didn't want to stop. Luckily for her, Oz wasn't around to notice her odd behavior, he had band practice, so she was free to panic.

I know," Xander said over hearing his best friends words, "all this fighting and stuff that's going on, it's causing all this tension. Look at Cordelia," they looked over at the brunette girl who was giving Buffy the stare of death, "isn't it horrible?" he asked as he turned to back to his friend. From the look on her face, he knew that that wasn't what she had been talking about, "oh, we aren't thinking about the same thing here are we?" she shook her head, "hmm, you wouldn't happen to be thinking about that little smooch you and Kennedy had in the bathroom would ya?"

illow's eyes grew wide, "you know about that? Did Faith tell you?" she asked not even thinking to just cover it. Her first instinct was to panic even more then she already had been.

No, I saw you," he paused, "you see, when Faith ran into the restroom…very hot by the way…she open the door a little bit too wide, and since I was just walking back over after sending Cordelia off into the world of campaigning that doesn't involve broken body parts, I was at an angle that let me sneak a little peek."

Oh god. Did Oz see?" she asked, on the verge of going to an even higher panic level, one that she had never reached before. She had almost reached it when Oz found the note that she wrote, but he thought Kennedy wrote it so she hadn't quite got there, but if he saw…there was no going back from that.

No. Snyder was questioning him…there was blood on the floor, he wanted to know why," he laughed, "Oz said it was some sort of tampon defect…the point is, he didn't see you, and it was a mistake anyways. A lustful moment, Kennedy's hot, she was there…bleeding…you were there-"

But I'm in love with her," the red head blurted. Luckily, not loud enough for anyone but Xander to here.

He pulled her over even further from everyone else, "what? You can't be in love with her."

"Why?" she knew why she shouldn't be in love with her, she met her when she was already with Oz, but she didn't know why she couldn't be. That part just didn't make sense, if she couldn't be, then why was she?

"Uh, I don't know…because there's some short little rocker guy that you just happen to be in a committed relationship with," he shook his head, "and you're supposed to be the smart one."

She didn't want to pull the card she was reaching for, to hit her friend below the belt, a place where he didn't know she knew about, let alone one that he knew she could go to. The red head pulled him closer, "but, you're in love with me, and you're with Cordelia…who you like. Why can't I love Kennedy and be with Oz?"

Xander stood there for a moment, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened, "um, I didn't catch that. What? You uh…you," the room was suddenly full of laughter, and cat calls, stopping him before he could complete his thought. He turned to see Kennedy in a mini-skirt, black tank-top, and some boots, "That's what you're wearing?" he asked, "it's uh…nice."

Cordelia put on a fake smile, "you look like a slut…now I can tell you're related to Faith."

"Be glad that I'm in a good mood," Faith said returning the smile. She looked over at Willow, who was just staring at Kennedy, seeing the perfect opportunity to mess with her, "what do you think Red?"

All eyes in the room, which included Buffy, Faith, Cordelia, Xander, Joyce, Dawn, and Kennedy, were now on the red head. She didn't know what to say, how to make her mouth work to say anything, so she stood for a moment. Just looking out at all of them. The only thing she could manage was to say, "I hate frogs."

For a moment the room was quiet, there once fascinated stares, now more of a confused look, all except for Faith who was of course amused. She laughed, "that's geek for, 'that's one hot piece of-"

"Faith," Joyce said giving the girl a look of warning. She put her hand on Dawn's shoulder, "why don't you come help me in the kitchen."

"But Mom," the girl started to protest, but it was no use, once again she was being taken out of a room for being younger then all other listeners.

Buffy elbowed the other slayer in the side, "I think it's time for food," she said as she stood up, "but all of you have to leave and get ready, so out. I'm going to go and eat, before I get ready, and I want to dine alone…with Kennedy of course, cause she's staying here. The rest of you, leave…especially any stuck up vapid whore's," she looked to Cordelia, "that means you."

Cordelia stood up and headed towards the door, "maybe you should explain that to Faith, she thought you were talking to her."

Faith got up as well, "why do I always get the insults? I didn't even say anything that time," she looked over to Willow, "come on Red, you can stay later," when the red head was at her side, she put her arm around her shoulder as they walked out, "we still on for the limo thing?" she asked, she only received a nod for a response, "did you tell Kenn?" this time a head shake, "oh well, she'll just have to tag along then…sucks for her."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Buffy stood outside in her red dress, already prepared for the limo to drive up. She had been so excited to get there, to push all of her worries aside, and just enjoy her life as a normal girl. It had been so long since she felt that with all the things that had been going on with Angel and all, who she promised Faith she wouldn't go see before the dance, and so at the moment she felt great, more then great. She was about to just go hang out with her friends, all other things aside, so when the limo pulled up she walked over to it quickly with a smile on her face, "Kennedy will be out in a--" she looked in to only see Cordelia there and her excitement level dropped, "what is this? Where's Faith?" the girl handed her a letter as she sat down and closed the door. She unfolded the paper, "Dear Cordelia and Buffy, we won't be riding to the dance with you. We want you to work out your problems because our friendships are more important than who wins homecoming queen. Your friends. P.S. The limo was not cheap. Work it out!," she closed it back up, just as Kennedy got in the limo.

"I didn't get the memo," she said as she tried to get comfortable, she still wasn't used to the mini-skirt thing, "and I live with you so…guess I'm coming too. Don't think I can drive in this thing," she spotted a box in between the two of them, "are those corsages?"

"I took the orchid," Cordelia said as she stared in the opposite direction of Buffy, "there's only two…I'm guessing the other one's for Buffy."

Buffy opened the box and took the corsage out, "okay," she put it on and looked at it for a while, "you would pick one before I even get the chance too," she mumbled. They all sat there as the limo started moving, all of them not really knowing, or having anything to say.

Then Cordelia opened her mouth, "I don't see what the big is."

Kennedy looked at the girl, having no clue what she was talking about, "what the hell are you-"

"I'm not making not making a big deal," the blonde said annoyed, "you wanted orchid, you got the orchid."

"It goes with my complexion better…and Kennedy, please close your legs."

Kennedy put her legs together and just sat there. She had already had a good/bad day, and hearing them banter wasn't making it any better. It was such a huge combination of good and bad that she couldn't decide which was more dominate. It was good in a sense that she got to kiss the girl she had been liking for the past year, she passed a test that she thought she would bomb, and she got Faith and Buffy to make a deal with her. Those were all the good, but the bad…she cheated on Rachel, and in a way she betrayed what little of a relationship she did have with Oz, they weren't friends or anything, but there was an understanding between the both of them. One that said she wouldn't ever go after Willow, and though she wasn't the one that initiated the kiss, she didn't exactly fight it when it did happen.

"It does have that sallow tint," Buffy said finishing off the argument she was having with Cordelia. The limo stopped, "finally, we're here," they all got out of the limo not to see their school, but to see a forest instead.

"What is this? Okay, guys, we've had enough of your stupid little games!" Cordelia yelled.

Kennedy looked around, "no, something's not right," she spotted a TV and VCR on top of a rock, and pushed play. A man popped up on the screen, one that she recognized, "that Trick. He was one of Kakistos's footman…before we killed him," she said angrily, "I really don't like that guy."

"Hello ladies," Trick said on the screen, "Welcome to Slayer Fest '98. What is a SlayerFest, you ask? Well, as in most of life, there's the hunters and the hunted. Can you guess where you two fall? from the beginning of this tape, you have exactly thirty seconds--" he looks at his watch, "no that's seventeen now--to run for your lives. Faith…Buffy…Faith's sidekick…"

"Sidekick?" Kennedy said angrily, "I am not a sidekick. Especially not my sister's. Sidekicks are the irresponsible ones, and we all know who falls on that plate."

Trick smiled, "have a nice death."

"Hello!" Cordelia yelled as she looked around, "how stupid are you people? She's a slayer," she pointed to Buffy, then to Kennedy, "and she's the sidekick. I'm a homecoming queen," there was a sound of gunshot and the TV blew up, "Ahh!"

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Faith saw Willow and Xander standing on a foot apart staring at the band play, both of them looking sad, "what are you two so mopey about?" she asked.

Xander leaned in her direction, "we're not mopey. We're groovin'. On Oz's band. He's a great guy, Oz," he said feeling guilty. He hadn't thought that he loved Willow, all he thought was that he liked her. From the moment he had seen her seen her in the dress that day in her room, he realized that maybe he had been lying to his self, that he had had feelings for her all along and pushed them aside. When she said that he loved her, that's when the guilt started to come into play. Maybe he did love her…but Oz was his friend, and a good guy, and Cordelia, despite her bitchiness, didn't deserve to be his second choice.

"He wrote this song for me," Willow said as she continued to pout. She was also riding the guilt train. She had after all cheated on Oz when she kissed Kennedy, and then she felt bad for what she said to Xander. He obviously didn't know that she knew anything about his feelings, but that look that he had in her eyes when she was in that dress, was a look she recognized. It was the one that she wore when she looked at Kennedy, one that Kennedy would let slip when no one was noticing, and the one that Faith had when she watched Buffy from afar. There was no doubt in her mind that she was right, and so she pointed it out, confirm ring that she was right.

Faith looked between the two of them, "look Red, it was just a kiss, it's not the end of the world, and you," she looked at Xander, "you being in love with Red isn't such a bad thing, you're just a little late on figuring things out…it happens."

"What…?" he sighed, "how'd you know."

She smiled, "I didn't at first…but now I do," she looked over her shoulder and spotted Scott dancing with some girl, "sleazebag!" she said angrily as she walked away, already trying to think of some plan to get back at the boy.

Giles ran up to Willow and Xander next, "we have to find Buffy. Something terrible has happened," they looked to him, and he started to laugh, "just kidding. Thought I'd give you a scare," they both turned away, not amused in the least bit, "are those finger sandwiches?" he asked, seeing that Xander had one, then he left to get one for himself.

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Buffy, Cordelia, and Kennedy were running through the forest as fast as they could, sounds of gunshots following close behind. Once the shooting stopped, they slowed their pace to catch their breath.

"I have an idea," Cordelia said, breathing heavily, "we talk to them, explain that I'm not who they think I am, and they let me go," she spotted a bear trap on the ground, "look out!" she yelled as she pushed Buffy just before the thing would've snapped her ankle in half.

Buffy pushed both of the other girls down, "get down!" she yelled as she stopped the man with the gun. Just as he was about to take a shot, he stepped in a bear trap, dropping the gun to stop it from clenching his ankle, "that's got a smart. Kennedy, take the gun," she ordered in full battle mode.

The girl got the gun, and then reached into her boot and pulled out her switchblade, which she handed to Buffy, "I always carry it with me," she said when the slayer gave her an odd look.

"Okay…now," she looked back to the crouched over guy, "I can let you out of that, or I can tell my friend here to put a bullet in your head. How many are there in this little game, and what are they packing?" she asked.

The man said nothing at first, but when Kennedy cocked the gun, he decided to spill it all, "there's me, two Germans with AR-15s and a grenade laugher, yellow-skinned demon with long knives that come from his arms and he's got spikes on his head, vampire couple from Texas named Gorch."

"That everybody?" Buffy asked.

"Everybody who's out here, Germans are wired. Their boss is tracking them on computer. Now get me out of this!" the man yelled.

"Could I ask an eensy favor? Could you tell your friends that I'm not--" she was cut off by two knives flying through the air, hitting the tree next to her, so they took off again.

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Faith put down her drink and walked over to Scott and his date, "Scott?" the couple broke apart, "there you are honey. Hey, good news. The doctor says that the itching and the swelling and the burning should clear up, but we got to keep using the ointment," she turned to his date with a smile, "hi. Oh," she turned back to him, "and the baby's going to be just fine," she gave his tux and friendly tug and walked away, "mission accomplished."

Giles walked over to Willow and Xander, who were now sitting down in chairs, "I suspect the finger food contains actual fingers. I think I'll just go to the library until the whole coronation bit. I want to be here when Buffy--well, however that turns out for her. That was a very fine thing you three did," he continued, not even noticing the mood the two of them were in, "putting Buffy and Cordelia together," he said. Then he walked away.

"We did one fine thing," Willow mumbled.

"Yeah. They've been gone for a while…they must really be getting into it," Xander said as he continued to look in the other direction.

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The three of them spotted a cabin as they were running, and decided to go into it in hopes of having some sort of protection for a while, "we should be safe in here for a while," Buffy said as she closed the curtains. She went over and tried to close a wooden slab over a door but it fell to the ground instead, "Cordelia, you need to find a weapon."

"I'm not going to save you," Kennedy said with a smile as she sat down on a bed that was in the room, "I can't believe this is happening."

"Safe? I'm not safe. I'm gonna die," Cordelia said as she stood in the middle of the room starting to panic.

"One could only hope," said Kennedy.

Buffy continued to look out the windows, "yeah, you are if you just stand there," she said annoyed by the girl's constant chattering.

But Cordelia wasn't paying attention to either one of them, "I'm never gonna be crowned homecoming queen. I'm never gonna graduate from high school. I'm never gonna know if it's real between me and Xander, or if it's just…some temporary insanity that made me think…I loved him. And now I'm never gonna get the chance to tell him."

"Look Cordelia, it might seem impossible right now," Kennedy said as she laid down, "but somehow we're going to get out of here. Right now we just need to stay calm, and rest for a second."

"Kennedy is right. You are going to get to tell him," Buffy said as she walked over to Cordelia, "we're gonna get out of here, and we are gonna head back to the library, where Giles and the rest of the weapons live-"

Kennedy laughed, "I got that…he does sort of live there. I mean he's always there," they looked at her like she was crazy, so she stopped there.

Buffy turned back to Cordelia, "then I'm gonna take out the rest of these guys just in time for you to congratulate me on my sweeping victory as homecoming queen," with a smile she walked back over to a window and started to look out again.

"I know what you're up to. You think if you get me mad enough, I won't be so scared. And hey…it's working. Where's a damn weapon?" Cordelia asked as she went over to a small desk in the room and started to go through the drawers.

"You really love Xander?" Buffy asked as she turned around.

Kennedy sat up, "finally, something I would actually be interested in hearing," she said sarcastically.

"Well," Cordelia said as she continued to dig through the drawer, "he kind of grows on you, like…a ChiaPet," she stood up with a spatula in her hand.

"She has to have a heart somewhere in there," said Kennedy.

Cordelia gave the girl a look and then turned her attention back to Buffy, "we know gun girl here is totally in love with Willow--"

"Hey, I don't--at least I don't think I love her," Kennedy said as she started to think.

"But what about you?" Cordelia asked as she continued to look at Buffy.

"What about me?" the slayer asked.

"Well either all of us are crazy, or you and Faith have feeling, of the gay kind, for each other and just won't admit it."

Buffy just stood there, both of the girl's staring at her, waiting for her to say something. But she couldn't think of anything, her mind wouldn't let her process what had just been said, or whether it was true or not. Once again, because she was accused of liking the other slayer a lot, she found herself unable to deny or confirm what was said. So she decided to leave it, she spotted the spatula in Cordelia's hand, "that's it?" she asked.

Cordelia stood there, not really sure what the girl was talking about, but then she remembered the spatula she was holding. She walked over to Buffy, "Just this and a telephone."

"Idiot," Kennedy said as she stood up and headed towards the desk.

"A telephone," Buffy said as she stared at the girl, giving her a stupid look, "and you didn't think that'd be helpful?" she asked.

"No," she started to act like she was hitting something with the spatula, "this is for--oh," they ran over to the phone, which Kennedy had already plugged in.

Buffy dialed the library number, "pick up…god, the one time I really need you to stay in the--Giles, it's me…and Kennedy…and Cordelia. We're in a cabin in Miller's Woods, and we're in big trouble. I you get this message, Giles, get help and get out here--" the phone clicked, "Hello?"

"What happened?" Cordelia asked as Buffy took the phone away from her ear.

"It went dead," the slayer said as she put it down.

Kennedy went back over to the bed and sat down, "great."

"Why is it every time I go somewhere with you, it always in violence and terror?" asked Cordelia.

Buffy went back to watching the windows, "welcome to my life," she said.

"I don't want to be in your life," Cordelia said as she felt herself begin to panic again.

"Well, there's the door. Please feel free to walk out at any time and live your own life," said Buffy.

"All I wanted was to be homecoming queen."

"Again with the homecoming," said Kennedy.

"And that's all I wanted too Cordelia. I spent a year's allowance on this dress," Buffy said as she continued to pace.

"I don't even get why you care about homecoming when you're doing stuff like this," the girl said unable to understand why the slayer had any interest in something like homecoming.

"This is all she does," Kennedy said getting both of their attention, "this is her life; slaying and protecting people…ungrateful people. Do you have any clue what it's like to have to fight for things because someone else tells you you have to? You don't do you?" she looked down, "I know that I'm not a slayer, but just from the time that I did run around with Faith…you wouldn't understand. This so called destiny has put all of us through so much…Buffy having to kill Angel, our watcher being killed…my mother. It's nice to just enjoy simple things like friendships, and high school…that's why she cares about stupid stuff like homecoming."

They sat there for a second in silence, what the girl had said going through each of their minds. Then they heard something outside. All of them looked around, Kennedy now standing up, ready to fire the gun, Buffy gripping the blade in her hand, Cordelia gripping the spatula, "did you hear--?" Suddenly the window shattered, a yellow demon busting through it.

He hit Kennedy with his body hard, making her hit the ground, knocking her out cold. Then he went over and hit the blade out of Buffy's hand. She pushed him away, grabbed some antlers that were on the wall, and started use them to fight against his knives. She looked at Cordelia, who was hitting him with the spatula, "Cordy, the gun!" she yelled as she knocked him to the ground.

Cordelia picked up the gun just as he stood up and started and began to fight with Buffy again, she lifted it to fire, "channeling Kennedy--" she pulled the trigger and it hit a glass bottle on a high shelf.

Buffy looked over her shoulder and then looked back at the girl with the gun, "Cordelia, the spatula," she said, noticing how bad the girl missed. She started to fight the demon again when something flew through the window, some sort of grenade, "get Kennedy!" she yelled, as she headed towards the window.

Cordelia hit the unconscious girl across the face with the spatula, and the girl's eyes flew open, "get up, or we're going to get blown up," she helped the girl get up, and the three of them jumped out of a window. They landed harshly, but still got up and started to run just as the cabin blew, sending them flying forward.

"We have to get to the library," Buffy said as they stood up, "now."

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After running for, what seemed like, hours, they finally made it to the school. Glad that they were finally going to end the ongoing fight, "Jungle Bob and spike-head are down and out," Buffy said as they walked quickly through the halls.

"That just leaves the Germans, who we've lost…twice, and the vampire couple; the Gorches," Kennedy said as she too tried to keep track of who else they had to take out, "we take those guys out really quick, and we might not miss the whole crowning thing."

"Those animals," Cordelia said angrily, "hunting us down like poor defenseless--animals."

Kennedy laughed slightly, "well said."

They walked into the library, "We just need to find Giles--," the slayer was cut off by an attacking woman vampire. They started fighting, exchanging blows back and forth, then the slayer pushed the vampire away in time to catch the spatula that Cordy threw to her, and pushed into the vampire, only to be knocked out at the same time.

In the mean time, Kennedy had spotted an unconscious Giles and was at his side trying to wake him up, ignoring the man vampire, that had a cowboy hat on.

"Candy!" he yelled, "I'm going to kill both of you slayers…and sidekick, for this," he said angrily, "hear me?"

Cordelia stepped up to him, looking at Kennedy to tell her not to move, "I hear you, you redneck moron. You got a dress that goes with that hat?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm gonna--"

"Rip out my innards," the girl said cutting him off, "play with my eye balls, boil my brain and eat it for brunch? Listen up, needle-brain. Buffy, Kennedy, and I have taken out four of your cronies, not to mention your girlfriend."

"Wife!" the vampire yelled.

"Whatever. The point is, I haven't even broken a sweat. See, in the end, Buffy's just the runner-up, and Kennedy is just…well, a sidekick. I'm the queen. You get me mad, what do you think I'm gonna do to you?" she stood there staring him the eye, keeping her eyes from showing any signs of fear in hopes that he will back down.

"Later," he said as he took off out of the library, but before he could make it, Faith walked in and staked him instantly.

She had had that feeling, that Buffy was in some sort of trouble, but had figured that she was just being paranoid until she felt the girl was close by and still in trouble. She saw her on the floor and went over to her, "Buffy," she said as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Buffy opened her eyes and sat up slowly, "hey you," she said quietly.

"Hey," the other slayer said with a smile. She helped Buffy over to a table, and the blonde slayer sat down on top of it, along with Cordelia. Once Giles was awake, he went over and started to pick up some of the books around the table, and Kennedy stood next to her sister.

"I must admit I do fell partly responsible," the man said, "I did give your friends tacit approval to make the switch in the limousine."

"Aw, it's okay," Buffy said with a shrug, "it gave all of us a chance to spend quality death time."

Kennedy laughed, "it wasn't as fun as she makes it seem."

"And we got these corsages," Cordelia said lifting her arm.

"That's nice," Giles said with a smile, "although…I don't recall them mentioning corsages."

Faith took Buffy's wrist in her hand to look at the flower, "that's because there were no corsages," she said as she began to think they were missing something.

"Son of a bitch!" Kennedy said angrily as she figured everything out, "we were being traced. The Germans were being tracked by their boss on a computer, who used the corsages to track us…letting them know our every move."

Cordelia took hers off quickly, handing it over to Buffy, "get rid of them."

Buffy looked to Faith, "get me some wet toilet paper," the other slayer took off without question.

"Yeah, that'll help," Cordelia said giving the girl a look.

Kennedy grinned, "we might have gotten along at your other school after all…wet toilet paper, old trick…sticks to things."

"Exactly," the blonde slayer.

All of them left the library, Buffy and Faith going in one direction, and the rest of them hiding out while the slayers took care of the final hunters. Buffy ran across a hall, getting the Germans' attention, both of them shooting out of instinct. Then like the two slayers had planned, the soldiers split up, one following Buffy into a class room, while the other stayed in the hall. At the exact same time, both of slayers came from their hiding spots, while the Germans had their back to both of them, and they threw the wet toilet paper, with the tracker inside, onto the soldiers, making them both turn and fire at each other threw a wall.

Once the shooting stopped, Buffy walked out of the room, Faith waiting for her in the hall, "thanks…for everything," she said sincerely.

"

No problem," the other slayer said coolie, Buffy started to laugh, "what?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just you always trying to act cool is a little funny," she said with a smile.

"Let's not talk about all the things you do that I think is funny," Faith said as she too started to laugh.

"Like what?" the blonde asked, "that's the second time someone has said that I do funny stuff without realizing it…tell me," Faith took off running, "I'm too tired for this Faith!" she yelled as she watched the girl run. A wide smile appeared on her face, and she took off too.

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"Hey, guys, the moment we've all been waiting for," Devon said into the microphone, getting everyone's attention as he held the envelope in his hand.

Willow looked around, Oz at her side, "they're gonna announce the queen. Where are they? What's keeping them?" she wondered, seeing that Kennedy, Buffy, and Cordelia still hadn't arrived. Just as she said that, the three of them walked in, along with Faith and Giles, looking all banged up with dirt all over them.

"I'm gonna go with mud wrestling," said Oz.

Xander walked up to them, "Oh, God! What did you do to each other?" he asked.

"Long story," the blonde said simply.

"Got hunted," said Cordelia.

Buffy frowned, "apparently not that long. I'll tell you one thing though," she looked at Cordelia, "you don't want to mess with Cordelia."

"She's pretty tough," Kennedy added.

Xander started to laugh, thinking that it was a joke, and Cordelia gave him a threatening look, "no," he said as he faced forward.

"In this envelop," Devon begain, "I hold…"

As Devon kept talking, Kennedy walked up behind Willow. She put her hand on the girl's arm and leaned towards her, "you look beautiful," she whispered in the girl's ear, "you always look beautiful."

Willow felt herself become light headed. She closed her eyes, the closeness of the other girl, putting her into some sort of trance. Then the girl let go, her eyes opening once again, as Kennedy walked back over to where her sister was. Willow stood there just watching the other girl as her and her sister shared a joke, she assumed about what Kennedy was wearing, while Faith actually wore a dress, one that wasn't too short. All she wanted to do was go over there, to kiss the girl again, that unknown bravery climbing back up her spine, but then she felt Oz's warm hand touch hers. She looked at him, and returned the smile he was giving, then she looked to the stage.

"After all that we've been through tonight," Cordelia said as she stood next to Buffy, both of them staring at the boy on the stage, "this whole who-gets-to-be-queen capade seems pretty--"

"Damn important," Buffy said finishing the girl's sentence.

"Oh yeah," said Cordelia.

"And the winner is--" he opened the envelope, "hey, I believe we have a first for Sunnydale High. We have a tie. The winners are…"

Buffy and Cordelia looked at each other.

"Holly Charleston and Michelle Blake," the room went crazy. Streamers falling form the ceiling, music playing loudly.

The two queens pushed their way between Buffy and Cordelia, who just turned to leave, Kennedy following close behind them, "and I had to listen to these two argue while we were being hunted down?" she said to herself, "that's fucked up."

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Later on that night, Willow had been doing a lot of thinking as she sat in her room. Thinking about everything that was going on with Kennedy and her. It took her a while to come up with any sort of solution to their problem, but eventually she found something, something that would either work or lead to complete disaster. She was going to go over to the Summer's house to tell the other girl, Buffy and Faith were at Giles's place, and Joyce and Dawn were out for a late night movie, so there wouldn't of been any questioning eyes making her uncomfortable but she decide that the phone was the best way, and the safest way to propose her solution.

She picked up the phone and dialed the number, "come one…Kennedy."

"Hey Willow. What's up?" she asked casually as she took the phone into Dawn's room, where she now slept, the girl slept either on the floor or in her mom's room.

"Hey, I just um…well," she hesitated for a moment, not sure how she was going to say what she had to say.

Kennedy sat down on the bed and relaxed against the headboard, "what is it Willow?" she asked.

"I think I have a way to solve my problem…our problem," she corrected, "I know we can't go out. I have a boyfriend that I don't want to destroy, and you have a girlfriend, and so I think that I've figured out what we need to do."

"I'm listening," Kennedy said as she closed her eyes, and put a warm towel over them, still tired and in pain from earlier.

Willow too sat down, "well, the whole staying away from each other obviously isn't going to help at all, we have school together, and so all this--"

"Sexual tension," Kennedy said teasingly.

Even through the phone Willow blushed, "I wasn't going to say that," she said knowing that the other girl was teasing, "but anyways…basically yes. I figure that if we just take a little bit of time out of our week to see each other, privately, and just hang out…no kissing or…anything else. Then we'll be fine. We can just…I don't know be close together."

Kennedy laughed, "like cuddling?" as Willow started to talk, she heard a knock at her door, and got up to answer it, "you're not like using some sort of magic and outside my door are you? Cause I didn't think…"

Willow suddenly heard the sounding of screaming on Kennedy's side, then sound of thing crashing to the ground, "Kennedy?" she asked as she began to panic, now reaching another level she didn't know existed. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, and her head was pulsing, "Kennedy…say something," the phone clicked…the line was dead.

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Thanks for reading.-ThomThom


	6. Girl On The Rough Side

-1Hello, I'm just gonna say thanks for the reviews I've gotten, and thanks for the people that just read it, cause that also means a lot to me. This is, and one more chapter, will catch this site up with the chaps posted on the other site, so it's going to slow down a little bit…hope that's okay. But you guys still have one more chapter, that I've already done, that will be posted in a day or two, before you'll have to face my fast and slow pattern. Hope you like this chap too, thanks again. -ThomThom

Chapter Five: Girl On The Rough Side

Willow had called everyone that came to mind after what she had heard on the phone, the sound of Kennedy's scream ringing in her ears. She was panicking, finding it hard to breath, to think, when Buffy, Faith, so the two slayers basically had to carry her out, trying to calm her down a little, her being insane wasn't going to help anyone. Just incase it was something big, she also called Xander and Cordelia, though they couldn't really do anything, because the more the merrier when it came to stuff like this. A friend was in trouble, their life could be hanging in the balance, so they all needed to be there. What worried the red head most was whether it was someone after Kennedy, or Buffy. If they were after Buffy, and they were bold enough to break into the slayers house, then it was definitely bad…really bad.

"I brought weapons," Buffy said as she pulled a large bag out of her watchers car, "lots and lots of weapons," she unzipped the bag and started passing some sort of weapon to everyone, "I figure, if they're bold enough to break into my house, then we've got trouble," once everyone had a weapon, her and Faith were the ones to go up to the door first. Though Faith had seemed to be fine, to be her usual strong self, Buffy could see that it was a cover. That somewhere in there, the other slayer was falling apart at the thought of her sister getting hurt, especially with all the other people she had already lost…there was no way she could handle one more. She looked over at the other slayer and nodded to give her the go ahead, letting her know that she was right behind her, "we'll go in first, if you don't hear anything breaking, then follow," she said to the others.

Willow stood waiting for her moment to go in, hoping that the girl was okay. Part of her wanted to blame herself, 'if I wouldn't have called her…if she wouldn't have thought it was me,' but those thoughts were cut off when Oz showed up, "Oz, what are you doing here?" she asked. He was the one person she did not call, didn't want to call. Not after what her and Kennedy had talked about.

"Xander called, said you guys might need some help," the boy answered calmly.

"Xander," Willow looked over to her friend who just shrugged, hoping that he had not called for the reason she was thinking. That he hadn't called to make sure Oz was there to keep an eye on her, 'he wouldn't do that,' she heard Buffy yell that everything was clear downstairs, and ran in, immediately leaving her boyfriend without a single thought, and forgetting that her friend was possibly up to something. She followed the two slayers up the stairs, staying a little ways behind them as they pushed doors open, then they made it Dawn's room and froze. They all looked at each other, turning to look at the others as they made their way up the stairs, and then Faith kicked the door open.

The was a complete mess, things were knocked over, and clothes and other things were all over the place, but there was no sign of Kennedy at all. Buffy walked in first, knowing that what they were seeing looked very bad, "there's no blood or anything," she said as the others walked in, "that's a good sign, maybe she's not hurt."

"Look at this place," Willow said as she continued to panic, "something bad had to of happened for it to be torn apart like this," she started visualizing demons busting in and attacking Kennedy, the girl struggling to fight back, falling to the ground, reaching for the phone to get help, and then being dragged away and beaten, "what if she's not okay…what if she's--"

"I know where she is," Faith said, getting everyone's attention, "come on, I know where to go," they all got into Oz's van, Faith at the wheel, wondering where they were going, but none of them asked. They were to afraid to ask because of how serious the girl looked, how she had ran out without saying anything but 'let's go' not feeling the need to explain where they were going.

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After making it through a line, they found themselves in a sea of dancing bodies, music blaring from every direction, lights occasionally flashing. Buffy put her hand on Faith's arm, "Faith," she said as she looked around, seeing guys dancing with guys, and girls dancing with girls, "why are we at a…gay bar thing?" she asked, but the other slayer just kept pushing through the crowd, not turning to answer her question.

"Oh my god," Cordelia said as she tried to squeeze between all of the people, "they're all sweaty and icky," she pulled Xander closer to her, "stay close or they'll think we're one of them," he looked at her like she was crazy, and then moved closer to her, "that's what I thought."

"Huh," Willow just looked around, not really sure what to think at all. She had never been to a place like that before. Yeah, she had been to a club, but The Bronze just didn't seem to even be on the same level as the club they were in at the moment. This place was bigger, louder, fuller, "so, this is what a gay club is like…don't they usually branch off, like one for girls, one for boys…or in this case men and women?" beyond the shock factor, was sort of an angry factor, and a relief too. One, if Kennedy wasn't really hurt, and obviously she wasn't if they were at a club looking for her, she should have called. Two, she was okay, and that was good, but then again…"what if it's a demon gay club, and some demon girl thought she was sexy and wanted to make her their slave?"

Oz laughed, "uh, I don't think that's the case," he pulled her over to where he was standing, Buffy also standing beside him, so she could see what he was seeing, "I think she's okay," Kennedy was alive and well, in fact she seemed to be having a good time. At the moment, Kennedy was standing next to a girl, who was laying down on top of a table, licking salt off of her stomach, "don't think she's the slave."

"What is she--?" Willow watched as Kennedy took a shot of some kind of alcohol, horrified by what she was seeing, 'this is worse…so much worse. Now I won't be able to come to the rescue and be all romantic…I'll have to watch her lick salt off of a pretty girl's stomach instead,' the girl that had been licked sat up, pulling Kennedy close to her, and they started to full on make out, not caring who was watching them, 'so much worse.'

Faith ran over to the two girls as they finally pulled apart, "you slut," she pulled the girl off of the table, they looked at each other for a moment, Kennedy standing on the side of them, and then a grin appeared on their faces, and they gave each other a hug.

Buffy frowned, "who the hell is that?" she asked angrily. After she realized how that probably sounded, like she was jealous, she started to panic internally, not really wanting to think about it. What she wanted to do was leave, a little angry at the fact that she had been so worried for nothing, and the other slayer had known since they left her house, but before she could turn to leave, Faith started to wave them all over, "what am I getting myself into?" she mumbled.

"You and me both," Willow said to herself, having heard what her friend had said.

"This is so awesome," Xander said as he followed his friends over to the group of girls sitting at a table, "we're going to party with lesbians," he said with a wide smile.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "we do that everyday."

"Hey B, come on," Faith said trying to make the girl walk faster, "this is a friend of mine," she pushed the girl who had been on the table forward. A tall girl with light brown hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. She was wearing some tight blue jeans, and a tight black tank, showing that she had a toned body, which they already figured, from seeing her stomach, "this is B."

Buffy shook the girl's hand, "it's Buffy really, not B," she said with a light hearted smile, 'she's prettier then me…wait, no, that doesn't matter,' after they shook hands she took a step back to stand next to Willow, "is she prettier then me?" she asked as Xander moved past her quickly to shake the girl's hand too.

"I think she's prettier then both of us," the red head said sadly. She looked over to Kennedy, who was standing next to her sister with a huge smile on her face, 'she looks happy, really, really happy,' she thought to herself, feeling a sadness grow within her.

Oz took his girlfriends hand gently, "I don't think she's prettier then you," he said sweetly, but the smile that she gave him made him feel as though his opinion didn't matter. She didn't give him that bright smile that she usually gave, she just sort of shrugged and forced a smile instead.

"I've heard so much about all of you," the girl said as she pulled Kennedy next to her, intertwining their fingers as she did, "Faith is such an idiot, she didn't tell you my name," she looked over to the brunette slayer, "you're an idiot," she said with a smile, then she turned back to everyone else, "I am a friend of Faith's, and I have a name too. I'm Rachel, friend of Faith's, and Kennedy's girlfriend."

Buffy couldn't help but smile, 'why am I smiling…oh well, no time to figure it out,' "oh you're the mystery girlfriend," she said, now not feeling so weird around the girl, "I didn't know you were friends with Faith," she sat down at the table, and in the corner of her eye she could see Willow giving her a look. She knew what the girl was thinking, that she was a traitor, but she couldn't really act all weird or Faith would think something of it, so she just shrugged and turned her attention back to the other people.

"Unfortunately, I was friends with Faith before I started dating Kennedy," she said as she also sat down, "I'm surprised she hasn't told you, she tells me all sorts of things about you," the blonde raised her eye brows, showing interest, "oh yeah, let me tell you…all of you," she said as she moved her chair over to make room for everyone else, since they were done with the licking, all of the other girls who had gathered, dispersed, and started to do their own thing, so there was more then enough room for everyone to sit down. For the first time she noticed the red head, who she had also heard a lot about, and she thought that she might have had something to worry about, but then she saw the short boy standing next to her, and the fact that they were holding hands, and the worry vanished.

Faith and Kennedy sat down too, "no stories," the both of them said in unison.

Rachel laughed, "fine, I won't sill all of you guys' deep dark secrets…not yet anyways," she kissed Kennedy on the cheek, "but later…I'm gonna tell it all," she whispered something into the girl's ear, something that made her cheeks turn red, and then looked back to the people at the table, most of them staring at her, "well, let's get some drinks then. Faith, go get us something good."

Buffy almost started to laugh, knowing that she was going to hear some kind of smartass remark from the other slayer telling the girl to get off her ass and get it herself, or something to that effect, but that didn't happen. Faith stood up, without any sort of comment, counted all of them, and headed over to the bar. It was shocking, beyond shocking, she had never seen the girl do anything without complaining…or just not doing it at all. It made her a little uneasy, 'how good of friends were they…are they?'

"So, are you like, moving here?" Cordelia asked, knowing that all of them were probably wandering the same thing. She knew that Willow was for sure, especially since it seemed like Kennedy was refusing to make eye contact with her. It was strange really, Kennedy hadn't said a word since they had arrived, and Faith had talked less then she usually did.

Rachel just looked at the girl for a while, automatically concluding that she didn't like her, "you must be Cordelia," she said making sure to make her voice seem pleasant, when really she wanted to say something snide, but she decided against, "I don't think I'm moving here, but I'm not sure yet," Faith walked over to the table with a tray of gull shot glasses, "more tequila," she said excitedly as she took one of the shot glasses, "lime please."

"Hand me one too," Kennedy said, finally opening her mouth to speak. Mostly, she had stayed quiet because Willow was there. She hadn't wanted the girl to stumble upon them like that, to see her licking salt off of Rachel's stomach, or see her girlfriend at all until she had time to tell her that she was there, to make it easier. When she had seen the look on Willow's face when Rachel revealed who she was, she had felt an overwhelming sense of guilt wash over her. She had after all left the girl worried on the phone, but Rachel didn't exactly give her much time to think before they started making out, and then they left. Her plan was to show up at Buffy's the next day, get yelled at, and then explain everything, but that wasn't going to happen, "maybe two," she said as she reached for another glass.

Rachel lifted her glass to her lips, and noticed that only her, Kennedy, and Faith were drinking, "do you guys not drink?" she asked.

"They don't drink," Faith said as she took a shot, her fast twisted as she swallowed, then she reached for another, "more for us then," she lifted the glass to her lips, but before she could down it, Buffy took it from her and downed it herself. At first the blonde just sat there, trying to act all tough, but eventually she started to cough. Faith laughed, "wow B, that's uh--impressive. You must be a big drinker," she said sarcastically.

"Ha ha," the blonde said sarcastically, "I just wanted to try it…it's not that great," she said as she pushed the glass away from her. The way Faith had said 'they don't drink' is why she really took the shot, it sounded more like a 'they couldn't handle it' sort of thing, and there was no way that she was going to sit back and just let the slayer talk crap. Then again, she could have just been imagining things.

"There's multiple steps in taking a shot, and first you must have all the necessary ingredients" Kennedy said as she gathered all the things she needed for her shots, "you have the tequila," she pointed to the glass, "you have the lime," she pointed to the lemon.

"Which could be substituted with a lemon," Rachel said happy to see that her girlfriend was relaxing a bit. She had started to tense up when the others had shown up, and it had sort of made her worry a bit, but now she seemed to fine, "but we're going to use limes in this lesson."

"Then there's the salt," Faith said as she put a salt shaker on the table, "and last but not least…for some of us," she said looking over at her sister and Rachel, "you have someone to assist you with the shot. Since I don't really need all that stuff, I just took it straight…that's kinda funny," she said smiling at them.

Kennedy rolled her eyes, "next, you use your…assistant, usually someone you like, but sometimes there are exceptions, but no best friends…no best friends," she emphasized, "anyways, you put some salt on whoever you have picked. You could put it on their stomach, shoulder, neck, whatever."

"But the spot should be a little damp already, salt doesn't stick anywhere, unless you use your hand to hold it, and that's no fun. With the stomach, you're fine, flat surface, but it's a little bit more difficult with the neck unless you're leaning. Crowded place, equals no leaning," Rachel added.

"No babe," Kennedy said as she put some salt at the edge of her girlfriends neck, "that works," she picked up the lime, "put this in their mouth, like so," she put it in the girl's mouth, "not completely, you wanna be able to get it, and then you're set," quickly, she picked up one of the small glasses, licked her girlfriend's neck, drank the shot, and then leaned over and got the lime from Rachel's mouth. Her face contorted as she ate the lime, then she took the peel from her mouth, then she grunted as she shook her head, "yeah, that's just…fucking awesome."

"Yeah it is," Xander said as he began to drool.

Cordelia stood up, "we should go, right Xander?" she looked at the boy, who was still staring at Kennedy and Rachel, "Xander," she said sternly. He looked at her, and then stood up, "thank you."

Rachel looked at them, "oh we should do this again," she said sarcastically so Cordelia would know what she was really trying to say. She looked away and found herself looking Willow in the eyes, finding a combination of emotions; she was mad that's for sure, jealous, and sad all at the same time, 'there is something to worry about after all,' she thought to herself. Then she turned to Kenned, "my turn."

"I'm just gonna go to the restroom," Willow stood up, not wanting to see Rachel do what Kennedy had, and looked around, "where is the restroom?" she asked.

Rachel whispered something in Kennedy's ear, then Kennedy walked over to Willow, "I'll show you," they stood there for a second, and then moved through the crowd to get to the restroom. After a minute of getting lost they finally made it there, they walked in and Kennedy checked all the stalls to make sure they were alone, then she turned to look at the red head, "Willow--"

"Don't," the red head said cutting her off, "you don't get to say anything to me right now. I just had to sit and watch you lick salt off of someone…you don't to speak," she crossed her arms, "you should of told me she was here, I-I was worried…the scream, and the crash…but you were fine. You were doing what you do, getting laid and having fun. You haven't changed a bit, you're the same old Kennedy…I actually liked it better when you used to try and hide it from me, this is too much for me to handle…why didn't you just tell me she was coming?"

"I didn't know," Kennedy said as she went to stand closer to the other girl, "I mean, I knew, but I didn't know it would be this soon, and I didn't have time to warn you. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you guys to show up, I was just gonna explain everything tomorrow, but that didn't go so well."

"You seriously thought that I wouldn't come looking for you?" she asked angrily, "do you think that you mean that little to me? That I'd think something bad happened to you and just say to hell with it, she can take care of herself?"

The fact that the red head said any word that could ever be considered a curse word, told her that things were worse then she had thought, but then she felt her own anger too, "look I'm sorry that you were all worried, but you do not get to be mad at me for doing anything with my girlfriend. I'm the one that has to sit around and deal with you and Oz being all cuddly, and that's everyday. You see me with Rachel once, and you're trying to rip my head off? That's not fair Willow."

It was true, Kennedy did have to deal with her and Oz all the time, and it wasn't fair that she was getting so upset, but she couldn't help it, "but that's different," was all she could manage to say, to think.

"How Willow?" the brunette asked, "how is it any different?"

She wanted to say because she loved her, but when she thought about it, it made her wonder. Did Kennedy love her too? If Kennedy could deal with seeing her and Oz everyday, but she couldn't handle seeing Kennedy and Rachel everyday, that meant something. Did it mean that maybe she felt more for Kennedy than Kennedy felt for her. The answer to that question would be bad either way, so she didn't want to get an answer, at least not yet, "it just is," she said quietly.

"Fine," Kennedy said more harshly then she meant to, but she could tell that the red head wasn't saying something, that she was hiding something from her, "if you can't handle it, why don't you take rocker boy and go home…I don't want you here if it's going to be like this, if you can't give me what I've given you and Oz…or tried to anyways," when she saw tears in Willows eyes, she felt the guilt building again. She didn't want to be mean, and she didn't want the girl to leave, not without her, but with what was just said, or not said, she really didn't think she could handle being around Willow at the moment, "don't cry Will."

"I can't help it," she said as she began to sob, "I just…I want to be with you," it was one of the most honest things she could say, and she really did mean it, but she was afraid of what it would mean, especially seeing that Kennedy might not of felt the same way that she did, "I just want to be with you."

Kennedy pulled the girl into a hug, tears now in her eyes, "I know," she said as she rubbed the girl's back, "but we both know what we have to do to be together, we've always known. I know that I probably suck for saying this, but I waited Willow. I waited, and waited, for you. Everyday that I was here, the first time, I just sat back knowing that one day you would realize what was going on between us, and break up with Oz, but you never did. And then, when I left, you stopped writing me…I had to move on eventually, and Rachel was there. She was there for me when my mom died; when Faith was being a dumbass, when my dad sat on his ass drinking all day, she was the one that kept me sane…I don't know if I can hurt her…not like this. Not after all that she's done for me."

Willow pulled out of the hug, moving to look Kennedy in the eyes, "okay," she said nodding. She knew that she had had her chance with Kennedy before, that she had plenty of opportunities to break up with Oz, and not had the strength to do it, so she now felt that maybe it was time to leave it alone, "we just need some space from each other," she laughed, "it's funny because earlier we had figured out that that doesn't work."

"Yeah," Kennedy said laughing. She wiped a tear from Willow's cheek, "but we'll be okay. It'll take a while, but we'll be okay. Maybe it's for the best," it didn't feel like it was for the best, but what else could she say? They both had to get over it, and they had to do it quick, "okay then, we should go back out there," neither one of them moved, they stood there, just staring at each other, feeling themselves get lost in the other's eyes, "Willow--"

"I know," she said cutting the girl off, she gave her a quick kiss, and then walked out of the restroom, leaving Kennedy standing alone.

BR BR BR BR BR BR

(WHILE THEY WERE IN THE RESTROOM)

Once Kennedy and Willow were out of sight, things died down at the table. Faith and Buffy were the only ones that weren't all down and moping, OZ and Rachel looked like they were at a funeral, and they were the only one's at the table.

"Hey B," Faith said breaking the silence, "why don't we go hang out at the bar?" she asked in a chipper voice, desperately wanting to get away from Oz and Rachel. She knew exactly what was going on, Willow and Kennedy were sent off to decide who was leaving as a couple and who was leaving alone, and she didn't want to be there when the two girls got back.

Buffy stood up with a smile, "that's a great idea Faith," she said matching the other slayer's pitch. They walked away from the table, first slowly, and then basically took off running towards the bar. Once they were there, they both sat down, first just staring forward, looking at the mirror behind the wall of alcohol, then they both started laughing, "oh my god, that was so uncomfortable."

"Seriously, they so just sobered me up," she lent over the bar to get the bar tender's attention, "yeah, can I have another?" it was a woman this time, so she was sure that she wouldn't have any problems, not if she gave her best grin, "tequila," she said as the woman started to reach for some other drink, "two of them…make that four, sorry."

"No problem," the woman said as she poured the drinks, "it's on the house."

Faith picked up one of the shots, "thanks," she said with a wink, then she downed the shot as the woman walked away.

"God," Buffy said laughing, "do you just flirt with everyone?" she asked. It seemed like everywhere they went, Faith had to flirt with someone, with the exception of vampires of course, but anyone else, she had to say something that anyone but her would consider flirting.

"Hey, it got us free drinks," she handed Buffy a drink, picked up her own, and then tapped the girl's glass with it, "cheers," the blonde just looked at her for a second, then they both took a shot, "shit," she said as the liquid burned her throat, "that shit is awesome."

Buffy gagged, "ick. It just isn't my thing I guess," she concluded after still not liking the drink, "you can have my other one."

"Okay," she said taking the drink without question, she downed it and then looked back to Buffy, "I think we just need to find something you'd like more…something even more girly," she got the bar tenders attention again, "yeah, can you give us something girly? Something sweet, my friend here isn't one for the shots."

"Alright, just give me a second," the woman said with a smile.

"Thank you for that," Buffy said feeling embarrassed.

"Oh come on B, don't tell me that you 're embarrassed," Faith said teasingly, "it's not big deal, not everyone can drink. I mean you're a slayer, so you should be able to, but it's no big deal," she tried to hold in her laughter, her smile growing wider and wider, eventually she just gave up, "no I lied. It's pathetic."

"Screw you Faith," Buffy said as she hit the girl on the shoulder, "I can drink, I just don't like how that stuff tastes. It has nothing to with whether I can handle it or not."

"It's not about how it tastes, it's about the effect that it has on you. Most of the time, the nastier it tastes, the better it feels," the woman brought them over some sort of girly drink, and then was off to get another request, "look at this fruity shit," Faith said taking the drink into her hand, it had different shades of yellow, orange, and red in it, "this isn't going to do crap."

Buffy took a sip of it, "hmm, but it tastes good," she said with a smile. Faith looked at her like she was stupid, so she put the drink down, "fine, I won't drink the girly drink. Pick something else, something manly," she said laughing.

"Well, the bar chick is busy," Faith said looking over at the woman, "but I could always just--" she reached over the bar and started to feel around, eventually she felt a bottle and pulled it over quickly, looking at the label, "vodka…not so tasty…it'll do just fine."

"Faith," Buffy said ducking her head, "we cannot steal alcohol."

"Stop ducking," Faith said pulling the girl up by her shirt, making her sit up straight, "you like an idiot," she looked over at the table, to see that Oz and Rachel were now talking, "that's not good," she looked over to Buffy, "we're gonna have to take Rachel's car," the blonde started to say something, "we're barely outside of Sunnydale, one of them can call a cab or something. I really don't want to be here when Kenn and Red announce they're together."

"First of all, I was saying know, because we've both been drinking, and it's about three in the morning," she paused, "you really think they're gonna breakup with Oz and Rachel?"

Faith shrugged, "honestly, unless one of them all of a sudden grew some balls, no," she grabbed Buffy by the arm, making sure not to grab her hand, "let's go B," she didn't wait for the blonde to say anything, she just started pulling her through the crowd, "this should be fun."

BR BR BR BR BR BR

"Hey," Willow said as she approached the table, "you ready to go Oz?" she asked. He sat there for a moment, obviously questioning whether he really wanted to leave with her, him and Rachel had been talking, but he pushed it aside and stood up. Willow looked over at Rachel, "it was nice to meet you," she said as they walked away.

"Yeah, you too," Rachel said as she saw Kennedy approaching. She stood up from her seat and walked towards her, "you okay?" she asked as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

Kennedy took a deep breath, "I need a drink," she couldn't say that she was okay, because she didn't really know. At the moment, she kind of just felt numb, and the last time that she felt that way ended in a break down, so she couldn't really tell if she was okay, not yet. They sat down at the table, both pulling a glass towards them, and took a shot, then Kennedy turned towards the girl and kissed her. Both of them just sitting there, letting their lips touch.

Rachel pulled back a little, "I love you," she whispered, then she closed the space between them again, this time letting the kiss grow. In her mind, she knew that she should've been telling Kennedy to go, to chase after what she wanted, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't push herself to let her go, so she kept kissing her instead, hoping that it wouldn't all go bad when they separated.

BR BR BR BR BR BR

"So," Oz said as he drove, trying to break the silence. Neither one of them had said a single word since they got into the van, and he knew why, "what did she say?" he asked, not really wanting to know.

Willow wiped her face before a tear could fall, "nothing really, she was just saying how she was happy that Rachel was there. How much she missed her and stuff."

He knew it was a lie. A complete and total lie, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to say anything about it. That he wanted to know what all really happened while they were in the restroom. Him and Rachel had talked about, both knowing that they might lose their girlfriends to each other, she had asked him if he'd really want to face what was right in front of him, and he couldn't answer it. All he could do was try and say that there was nothing to see, that Willow and him were in love, and nothing could change what they had, but it had already changed. Their relationship changed when Kennedy first came to town, when she left town, and again when she came back, "she seems nice…Rachel, she seems nice."

"Yeah," Willow said simply, then she went on, "she um--she was the one that helped Kennedy out when her mom died," she said remembering what Kennedy had told her in the bathroom, "when Faith was being all crazy; and when their dad started drinking…so she's definitely a good person…she's nice," it was that simple, Rachel had been there when Kennedy needed someone the most, while she wouldn't even right her, there was nothing else to say about it, so she decided to change the subject, "where'd Buffy and Faith go? Were we supposed to give them a ride back?" she asked remembering that the two of them had rode with them, Xander and Cordelia obviously called a cab, or her dad, so she wasn't worried about them, but two slayers disappearing…that didn't seem good.

"You know what," Oz said laughing, "I think I saw them take off with a bottle of Vodka."

Willow laughed, "that figures. I'm sure Faith was the one carrying it, right?"

"Carrying the bottle in one hand, and dragging Buffy out with the other…not really dragging thought, it was more of a pulling," this felt normal, though their usual topic wasn't Buffy and Faith, the fact that they were laughing about something, and just being their usual selves, it felt good, 'maybe there is hope after all.'

"I hope they don't get into trouble," Willow said, knowing that they probably would. She looked at the time on the radio, "it's three," she said panicking, "oh my god, I've missed curfew my mom's gonna kill me I'll never be able to leave the house again she'll want to home school me and make me study all day…and pray lots and lots of praying. Did I mention…"

Oz smiled as the girl went on, 'she's back to normal.'

BR BR BR BR BR BR

Buffy and Faith snuck into the Summers' house quietly, trying not to wake Joyce up. First of all, she probably wouldn't be so happy that they're walking in while it's five something in the morning, and then to top it off, they were both drunk. They had decided to take a little walk when they first made it to the Summers', calling it patrolling instead of a walk, but it ended up being more of a walk and drink sort of them. Both of them had started taking large swallows of the alcohol they took from the bar, and after they realized that they couldn't really see straight, they thought it was best that they head back. When they did get back, it took Buffy about five minutes to get the door open, because she kept dropping the key. Eventually, Faith just pushed her out of the way, accidentally making the girl fall of the porch, and unlocked it, but then she had to help Buffy up, so by the time they made it in they were finding it very hard not to laugh.

"Shh," Buffy said as she struggled with standing up. Faith reached over and put her arm around her waist, "thank you," she said as she put her arm around the girl's shoulder, "you can be so nice sometimes…other times though, pfft, you're a pain in the ass. But hey, look at me," she said using her free hand to turn the girl's head toward her, "you--you," she emphasized, "are unbelievable."

Faith laughed, she wasn't as drunk as the blonde slayer was, so it was even more funny for her to see Buffy acting so weird, "thanks B," she said as she helped the girl up the stairs, "you have to be quiet now," Buffy started laughing, "no seriously, you're mom is sleeping."

"Oh," the blonde slayer said nodding, "we don't want to wake her…she's a monster in the mornings. Like seriously…monster," she started growling and barking, "monster."

"Buffy shut up," Faith said trying to keep from laughing at Buffy's imitating a monster, sounding more like a dog then a monster, which made it even funnier.

Dawn suddenly appeared in front of them, her hair a mess, and her eyes wide, "my room is a mess," she said angrily, "who did it?"

Buffy shook her head, "uh uh, not me," she said laughing, "come here," she said motioning for her sister to come closer, but Dawn just looked at her like she was crazy, so she pulled the girl down a step, pulling her closer and closer, "not me," she whispered.

"Is she drunk?" Dawn asked, turning to Faith.

Faith laughed, "very, very drunk."

"Don't tell Mommy," the blonde slayer said in a whiny voice, "please don't tell her…she's a monster," she started to growl again, and barked once, "a monster."

Dawn frowned, "a dog?"

"Nooo," Buffy said as she pushed her sister away, "a monster, what dog sounds like--"

Faith covered the girl's mouth, "okay, that's enough of that," she said as she continued up the stairs, making Dawn go too, "everyone needs to go to bed. Dawn, Kennedy is the one that fucked up your room, you can yell at her…but since you like her, I'm sure you won't."

"Luckily for you," Dawn said as she watched Faith basically drag Buffy towards her room, "Mom had to go in early, so she won't have to see you acting like an idiot…too bad she won't see what a bad influence Faith is though," she walked over to her mom's room, where she had to sleep because of the state her room was in, she opened the door, "a monster…what an idiot."

After a minute, because Buffy seemed to be falling asleep while she was opening it, Faith finally got the door open and walked/dragged Buffy inside, closing the door with her foot. She guided the girl over to the bed and sat her down, "god, you sobered me up."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, pouting. She looked out of her window, "look at the stars," she said as she got up and stumbled over to her window, "they're so beautiful."

"You're a nut case," she walked over to the girl, "there aren't any…oh," Faith stopped talking when she too saw stars in the sky, both of them just standing there, staring in amazement.

"Faith," Buffy said quietly, "you remember that night at Angel's, when we accidentally kissed, and we both freaked out, and wouldn't talk about it?"

"Yeah?" the brunette said simply.

Buffy sighed, "it was nice…not the freaking out part…but the kiss--it was nice," she turned to her, trying as hard as she could to fight threw the blur the alcohol was making. Faith was looking down, not saying a word, "Faith."

"Yeah?" she looked up, feeling herself crumble inside. It was hard to breath; to move; to do anything other hen just stare into the blondes eyes as she moved closer to her. That kiss had been in her mind since the day it happened, but because she knew Buffy was freaking out about it, she tried to forget it. It had only made things awkward for them, complicating their friendship more, so she just tried to put it behind her. Just when she thought she had…

"I have to tell you something…something important," the blonde slayer said once she was only inches away from Faith, "I think I--I don't know…that I might--" before she finished something caught her eye, something that made her feel like she hadn't taken a single drink all night. It was hard to see, but it was there, underneath the girl's shirt, hanging on a necklace, "is that…?"

Faith frowned, not sure what had changed, but she knew it had. She could see it in Buffy's eyes, she had went from a nervous mumbling slayer, to an angry slayer in two seconds flat, "what…?" she followed the girl's gaze, down to her necklace, "Buffy--" she was cut off by a hard slap across the face, turning her head to the side, where she just stared blankly out the window. Then she felt a tug at her neck as Buffy pulled the necklace from around her neck.

"I can't believe you took this," the slayer said angrily, "Angel gave this to me…I left it where I…and you took it," she pushed Faith hard on the chest, "how could you do this? Take this…you fucking psycho stalker," she covered her mouth, realizing that she might have gone to far; hit a spot she didn't mean to hit.

After she was sure that she wasn't going to turn and hit the girl back; after she pushed most of her anger aside, she turned to the blonde girl, looking her dead in the eyes, "that is not the ring that Angel gave you!" she yelled, "it's the only that Scott tried to give you in the hall, and you dropped on the floor…but you know what," she walked over to the girl and grabbed the necklace, taking the ring off of it, then she grabbed Buffy's hand, "this…"

Buffy tried to pull her hand away, tried to squeeze out of the girl's grip, "Faith stop."

"This…" she pulled the girl's arm back over to her, "stop!" there were tears streaming down her cheeks, and the other slayer's as well, but at the moment, she didn't care about the other girl's feelings at all. She slipped the ring on the girl's ring finger, "this is where it belongs…where you belong," Faith let go after a second, and ran out of the room, not turning once to look back.

"Faith," Buffy whispered as she stood alone in her room, "I'm sorry," she couldn't understand what had just happened, why she had reacted that way when she saw the ring. It was like it triggered something within her, making her lose all sanity and just throwing all of her anger out. That look on the girl's face, the pain, and tears, made her feel like she was breaking inside, 'I can't believe I…did that to her,' she ran out of the room, 'I have to tell her I'm sorry…she has to know how I feel, it'll make things right,' "Faith!" out in the hall, Dawn was standing there, obviously having heard the whole thing, possibly even the slap, if it was as loud and hard as she thought, and since she was a slayer, it probably was, "go back to bed Dawn," she said as she ran down the stairs, but it wasn't Faith she saw standing at the front door, it was Kennedy looking outside.

"She's gone," Kennedy said as she stood there, "her and Rachel took off…they'll probably come back in a couple days, once Faith's calmed down," they both stood there for a moment, staring at the rising sun, then Kennedy turned to walk away, stopping before she started up the stairs, "if you ever--ever, touch my sister again, I will kill you."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

(Laughing), that wasn't very nice of me to put that in there, but I had to. That was the one scene, that I knew I was going to make from the moment I re-watched the episode Scott tried to give Buffy the ring…from that moment on, I knew that I was going to use that for something horrible, so there you go. How will everyone recover from this huge mess? Will they be able to ever be the same old Scooby gang after this one night, full of madness? Well, we'll just have to see…

P.S. please review-ThomThom

P.S.S. as a treat I just decided to go ahead and post both chapters, so go on and read the next one…I think you guys will like it…hopefully.


	7. Cleaning Up The Mess And Making An Even

-1Hmm, you didn't expect this did ya (an update so soon) well neither did I really…there's just a bit more that I want to add before I make my version of 'Band Candy' which should be interesting…cause that was such a funny episode…maybe it'll be hard (sigh). Anyways, this isn't really a big deal sort of thing, probably not that long either, just wanted to add some stuff to the last Chapter….wasn't even sure about the title really, but yeah, here it is, hope ya like, tell me if ya like…please. Sorry about typo's, it was 5:22 AM when I did this…that's all I'm gonna say about that. Thanks for reading. -ThomThom

Chapter Six: Cleaning Up The Mess And Making An Even Bigger One

"Drinking is bad. Very, very, bad," Buffy said as she looked over at Willow. They had decided to just go get mochas together, no one else for a change, just them, and Buffy was feeling the effects of her late night drinking, along with other feelings too, "I was horrible…and stupid. I kept doing this monster impression," the red head frowned at her, "I know, and it came out more like a dog…a dog."

Willow laughed, "a dog? Wow."

"I know," she looked down, "I did something else too, something much more…it was--" she looked up to see that Willow was looking at her seriously, knowing that she was about to say something that was probably really bad, "have you talked to Kennedy today?" she asked, figuring if the girl had, she already knew about the whole, hitting Faith, ordeal.

"Uh no. We aren't…we didn't decide to be together," she said sadly, "it's too complicated to…it's not going to happen."

"Oh," Buffy said as she looked at her now saddened friend. She wanted to apologize for bringing it up; for not picking up the fact that Willow hadn't mentioned Kennedy, which should've told that they weren't together, but in the state of mind she was in, after what she had done and said to Faith, she couldn't understand why Kennedy and Willow hadn't just gone for it, "Why?" she asked.

Willow frowned, "Why?" she repeated, "well, for one, we're both in relationships…and I'm not even sure that me and Kennedy…I don't think she…like, what I feel for her…she doesn't feel for me."

"What that's crazy, she likes you," Buffy looked at her friend, seeing that maybe she had said the wrong thing, the red head now looked even more sad then when they brought up Kennedy in the first place, "oh," the slayer said suddenly, "you don't think she…you love her."

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, then she just nodded.

It was strange that she hadn't seen it before, that she didn't notice that her best friend was wondering around with this huge thing on her shoulder, having to just put it aside, 'that can't be easy,' she thought as Oz also came into picture. They'd always seemed so happy together, could it all of just been a lie? Something one sided? Then there was Kennedy, "you know what," she said getting her friends attention, "we're all cripples," Willow started to pout, "not you Will…I mean me, Faith, and Kennedy. We spend so much time just wandering within ourselves that we're too scared to go outside ourselves. You know?"

She shook her head, "no."

Buffy sighed, "it's like…we're so wrapped up in this darkness that we're born into, that we don't even try to escape it. I know that Kennedy isn't a slayer, but she lives her life like one…or at least she used to, and sometimes she still does…what I mean is, it's hard for us to be open about our feelings and stuff. I'm going to tell you something that I did, and it was pretty bad," she paused, "last night I hit Faith."

"What do you mean you hit Faith? Like a 'hey we're friends' kind of hit?" she asked not really knowing what was so bad about it. Every time she was around them, they'd hit each other just to do it, or after a joke, "what's the big deal again?"

"You know how I said drinking is bad?" the girl nodded, "well, it's not just because of the icky feeling that comes with it the morning after…Faith had this necklace on, and it had a ring at the end of it," she looked put her hand on the table.

Willow looked at the ring, "the one Angel gave you? I thought you got rid of that, you left it where you uh…you left it there. Did Faith take it, cause that would be so bad. That's too far Buffy, she shouldn't have done that."

"I know, that's how I reacted to…a little crazier, but yeah, that's what I thought, and I went crazy. I slapped her, hit her, yanked it from around her neck, pushed her…I did all of these things," in her mind the whole scene played out again, the long moment where Faith didn't even look at her, when she forced the ring on to her finger and then ran out of the room, "but it's not the ring Angel gave me."

"What?" she looked at the ring again, pulling the girl's hand closer to us, "Buffy, it looks just like it. It has to be--"

"Nope," she said cutting the girl off, "it's a completely different ring. One day, back when Scott was trying to win me over, he tired to give me a ring…this ring, and I freaked out. I just dropped it, hurt his feelings, blah, blah, blah. Turns out, Faith picked it up, and she kept it. I don't know why, but she did, and with the way I hurt her last night, why she kept it doesn't really seem to matter," she looked at the ring, and started to turn it with her other hand, "I was going to tell her…tell her that I uh…sort of--"

"Sort of what?" Willow asked moving to the edge of her seat. She knew what she was about to hear, had suspected it all along, but actually hearing the words made it mean so much more.

"Have feelings for her," the blonde said quietly, "I didn't really notice it until we accidentally kissed--"

"Again, I say, what?" this she had not expected. The whole feelings thing, yeah, but a kiss wasn't something she thought she was going to hear about, "when…? What…?"

"It was a couple of nights ago," Buffy said realizing that she hadn't meant to say that last part aloud, she hadn't meant to tell anyone about that night. Angel already knew and brought it up when they were together, she definitely didn't want to have to deal with her friends doing that, "it wasn't a big deal," Willow lifted a brow, "okay it sort of was, but we decided to leave it alone, and let it go," she wanted to tell her friend why. Wanted to tell her it was because Angel was back, and she wasn't sure what they had now, so she didn't want to risk losing him because of anyone else. The Scott thing just didn't seem as huge as it would be if she started to date Faith, it would be so much bigger, "anyways, I was going to tell her, but I saw an opportunity to get out of it, and I took it."

"Did you explain that to Faith?" Willow asked, feeling as though she was trapped in the world of some dramatic love story, "I'm sure she would of--

"She's gone," Buffy said sadly, "she took off after she did the whole…'that's where it belongs…where you belong' thing with the ring," once again she pictured that moment, it seemed so unreal, "I took it without even questioning why she had the ring, it was a way out, why would she want to hear me out? My point is…that's what I mean when I say we're crippled. We either don't take a chance on things, or we screw things up."

"So she just left…town?" she asked wondering if Faith had once again decided to run from her problems, and what that meant for Kennedy. Was she going to leave too. Buffy simply nodded to her question, "does that mean Kennedy's going to leave too, to make sure Faith's not going to do something crazy?"

"No, Kennedy's still here," she paused, "and she's not so happy with me…in fact, she threatened to kill me…she's definitely here. Rachel went after Faith, Kennedy said they probably won't be back for a couple of days."

"Rachel left," there was something strange about that, "why didn't Kennedy go with them?"

"Don't know," Buffy said as she got up, "I've gotta go Will…I promised Dawn that I'd pick up her room since she had to suffer through hearing me yelling at Faith last night, and because Kennedy didn't do it, but we should hang out later," she said as she gave her friend a hug.

Willow smiled, "as long as there's no alcohol involved," they both laughed, then Buffy headed back home, leaving her there to think, "Rachel's gone for a couple of days…"

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

"Screw her!" Faith yelled as she walked into the hotel room her and Rachel got. It was actually a pretty nice one, especially compared to the places she had stayed before, there was nice furniture, a kitchen, an actual view. It was more like an apartment, but she didn't care about that at the moment, "I mean, what gives her the right to just…screw her!"

Rachel sat down on the bad and just watched Faith start to pace back and forth. The girl had been yelling since they had left Buffy's house, mostly saying screw her over and over, "Faith, calm down," she said as she scooted to the head of the bed. One reason she wanted to the girl to calm down, and be quiet, was because she had a pounding head ache for all the drinks she had had at the club, "why don't you take a break from the yelling, just for a bit."

Faith stopped pacing, pulled a chair over to her, and sat down, "I just can't believe that she slapped me," she said as she rubbed the side of her face, "and said those things to me…I am not a psycho stalker."

Rachel laughed, "she called you that?" she ran her fingers through her hair, "she considers you making sure that her vampire boyfriend--ex-boyfriend," she corrected, "doesn't go crazy and kill her, crazy? She's the one that's crazy."

"I know," Rachel was the only person she trusted to tell everything to, well not everything, but at least about the whole Angel thing…actually she had blurted it out while she was ranting in the car, but still, she told her, "she's fucking insane, and she makes me insane," she admitted, "but I'm done. I'm done with all of her crap."

"You should be. I mean if she's still that wrapped up in him, then there's no point in going after her. She's just gonna choose him in the end, you know?"

Faith knew that they weren't talking about her and Buffy anymore, she could see it in the girl's eyes, "did Kenn…did she break up with you?"

"No, but it doesn't make a difference, I know I'm going to lose her in the end," she sighed, "eventually she'll realize that she wants Willow more than anything, and she'll leave me…I'm just waiting for it to happen."

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

Kennedy walked down the street alone, her hands stuffed inside her blue jeans, and her hair flowing behind her. She had been walking for a while, just circling the streets of Sunnydale, passing the same things every couple of minutes, just letting the scenes from last night play through her mind. Mostly, it consisted of her drinking, and making out with Rachel, but there were a few scenes that really stuck out, and kept flashing before her. Scenes like, the kiss that Willow gave her in the restroom, and then watching the door close as the girl vanished within the crowd of people. Then there was Faith trying to run out the house, that red hand print on the side of her face. All of it seemed so unreal, like it couldn't of possibly happened. Not that fast, not in one night. She stopped at a pay phone, put some change in, and dialed a number, but no one answered on the other line, "hey Dad, it's Kenny. I was just calling to see how you were doing back at home. I hope everything's okay…me and Faith are doing great, so I hope you're not worrying…I wish you were home," she wiped a tear from her face, "I guess I'll talk to you later, maybe come home for a bit…I don't know…I love you, bye."

"You're leaving?"

Kennedy turned around to see Willow standing behind her, "I uh…maybe," they stood there silently, not knowing what to say to each other. Not after what they had decided to do, and yet there they were, still not being able to avoid each other. It was like, no matter what they did, what they decided, they always ended up seeing each other, "I think it might be for the best…for everyone, if Faith and I just took off."

"She already took off," Willow said sadly. They might have decided that they needed some space, but she didn't want the girl to leave.

"So you talked to Buffy then," she started walking, knowing that Willow would follow.

"Yeah, we met up this morning," she walked a little quicker so she could be right beside Kennedy so she could see the girl's face, that was the only way she was going to be able to know what the girl was feeling, she was always good at not letting it show in her voice, "she told me about the whole slapping thing. About Faith taking off, and Rachel going with her."

Kennedy hesitated for a second, sort of missing her next step, then she continued at her normal pace, "yeah, she decided that she'd go since she was here…it's not like Faith usually listens to me," she said with a slight laugh.

Willow could see that the laugh was fake, that it upset her that Faith never seemed to consider her before she just ran off, "she listens to you…in her own slayer kind of way. That's how Buffy is too," she thought of all the times Buffy had done things without considering her friends and family, "she does the whole run away thing. She did after Angel died and left us all here to the slaying. Her mom was all worried, Dawn was worried too, though she'd never admit it, we were all worried, but she came back eventually."

"That's the difference between Buffy and Faith; Faith doesn't come back, she just keeps running," she looked over at Willow, "did she tell you everything, or just the slapping part?" she asked curious about what exactly pushed the blonde to hit her sister in the first place. She had actually figured that Faith had done something at first, but then she had started to wonder, because Faith was different with Buffy. She would never want to hurt Buffy, at least that's how it seemed.

"She told me everything," they were about to pass the Espresso Pump, "I can tell you what she told me," she said as she stopped in front of the place she had just come from, "but I really don't want to walk and talk…not at your pace anyways."

Kennedy looked past Willow, wondering if it was a good idea to go and sit with her, but they were in a public place, lots of people were around, so she figured it was okay, "fine, we can talk here," they walked over to a table, and out of habit, she pulled a chair out for Willow. The red head sort of just looked at her blankly, "sorry, it's a habit."

"It's a nice habit," Willow said as she sat down . There was an awkward silence, both of them realizing that it was sort of romantic, "anyways…the story."

"Right the story," Kennedy said nodding.

"Okay well," she shook off the light headed feeling that she always felt when Kennedy was around, so she could focus, "her and Buffy got drunk, and they were at Buffy's…they were both there and--"

"Willow," Kennedy gave the girl a look, trying to stop her from going in circles, "we all know they like each other, so on with it."

"Fine, apparently there was going to be this confession…by Buffy, but she noticed that Faith was wearing this necklace that had a ring on it. The ring looked like the one Angel gave to her, the one that she left at the place she killed him, so she freaked out, started yelling, slapped her, pushed her…hopefully nothing worse that she might not of mentioned. Faith got all emotional, which she had a right to do, because it wasn't the ring from Angel. Scott had tried to give Buffy a ring that looked like the one Angel got her, cause he didn't know, but Buffy freaked out and walked off, and somehow, Faith ended up with that ring. She explained that, then she told Buffy that uh…something like, 'that's where it belongs…where you belong' , she put the ring on Buffy's finger, and then she took off."

"Hmm," Kennedy said as she took the whole story in, "that's just…wow. Buffy was the one that was going to do the admitting first?"

"Yeah, I thought that was weird to," she smiled, "I know something," she said knowing that she probably wasn't supposed to say what she wanted to say, "it's a secret, but…I want to tell you."

Kennedy smiled, "you're not good at keeping secrets, everyone knows that, so I figure, whoever told you, must of known that you were going to tell someone," she said trying to prove there was a reason for her to tell, "mind as well be me."

"Well, you are here," Willow said nodding, "and it has to do with your sister," she could see the excitement in the girl's eyes grow, "okay, but if anyone asks, I didn't tell you…even if I'm the only one that could possibly tell you other then Buffy and Faith…I didn't tell you," she leaned over the table, "they kissed," she whispered.

"What?" she asked shocked by what she heard, "when? You're lying."

"Hey, I'm not lying," the red head said, pretending to be offended by the accusation, "Buffy told me that somehow they accidentally kissed. That's when she realized that maybe things weren't so black and white, and since she was drunk, she had the…balls," she frowned at saying that word, "to tell Faith--"

"But she didn't get to it because of the ring. That's just…so complicated," she thought for a second, wondering whether Faith and Buffy's relationship was more complicated then her and Willow, but when she looked at the girl, staring into her eyes for two seconds, she wanted to melt, 'it can't be more complicated then this.' She cleared her throat, "so, what do you think they're gonna do now?"

"Don't know," Willow said with a shrug, "but I think they might have a chance to work it out when Faith gets back."

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

"I don't even want to see her again," Faith said as she flopped onto the bed, "I mean, after that bullshit, why should I?" she waited for a second, looking over to Rachel, waiting for a response, "it was an actual question Rach."

"Oh," she said with a smile, "with all your ranting, it's hard to know when I'm supposed to jump in," Faith hit her playfully, "I'm just saying, you're gonna have to let me know," she put her serious face on, "why should you? Well, I think you should go back just to show her that you can survive without her…that you don't need her. Just act like a hard ass…like the old Faith, and she'll feel like shit, so there you go…reasons to go back to Sunnydale."

"Act like a hard ass," she thought about what the girl had just said. Acting like the old Faith? Did that mean that the old Faith had gone somewhere, and if so, where? When did she actually lose herself in the mist of delusion? It was weird to think that one girl had changed her completely, especially since she had always been the type to say that she would never change no matter what, "am I not a hard ass anymore?" she hit Rachel on the arm, "it's a question dumbass."

"I was just making sure," she said laughing, "well, I don't think you're a softy. I just think, that maybe, you're confused. Like you don't know who you are anymore, so you're adjusting to your surroundings," Faith looked at her confused, so she knew she had to be a little more thorough, "you act like the people around you…but with more cursing, and drinking. You sort of live to protect someone who doesn't want your protection…or maybe she does, but I don't really think she knows what she wants. Do you?"

Faith sighed, "I don't know…I've never felt so…helpless, you know?"

"Definitely," Rachel said nodding.

"That wasn't a question Rach," they laughed for a second, "you know what, no, I don't want to change who I am. I'm not gonna change who I am for Miss Goody-Two-Shoes of the fucking year. Screw her. I'm sick of feeling like this, I'm sick of losing my mind of her."

"But you will," Rachel said now sounding a bit sad, "you'll lose your mind over and over again…when she smiles; when she laughs," she touched her lips, "when she kisses you. Every moment that you're with her, you'll forget who you are, and there's nothing you can do about it."

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

"I'm sure if they just talk it out, they'll be fine," Kennedy said as she took a swallow of her soda. What they thought would be a little five minute chat, was slowly getting closer and closer to the hour mark, but neither one of them cared. They didn't think about it. All they were thinking was how happy they were at the moment, just sitting and talking to each other, "I mean, they're not stupid, they both know that they like each other, they just need to say it. I think saying it will really help, because actually hearing the words would make it mean so much more, you know?"

Willow froze, thinking about the fact that she had been thinking the same thing when she had talked to Buffy. She just stared into the girl's eyes, feeling something within her pulling her towards her. All she could think was maybe, just maybe, if she told the girl exactly how she felt, things would be different. No one else would matter, if she would just say the words, "Kennedy," she gulped, "I…I-I lo--"

"Xander," Kennedy said as she saw the boy approach, "hey, what are you doing here?"

The moment was gone, ruined by the guy she had known forever. She turned to look at him, seeing some sort of shifty look in his eyes, "what's up?" she asked hoping that nothing was going on, nothing that had to do with the world ending, or Buffy disappearing, "is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's great," he said with a small smile, "what are you guys up to?" he asked as he took a seat, not thinking to ask if it was okay, and also not really caring, "you guys uh--meeting up alone now?"

Willow frowned at her friends question, "no, we ran into each other. Xander--"

"Oh man," Kennedy said as she got up from her chair, "I should go. I hadn't really planned to be out for so long, and I want to make sure I don't miss a call from Faith…and Rachel, so I'm just gonna go," she looked at the red head one more time, "I'll see ya," she said with a smile, then she walked away.

After Kennedy turned the corner, Willow turned angrily to Xander, "what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"Don't act dumb. What was that, 'you guys uh--meeting alone now?' could you make things anymore uncomfortable?" she took a deep breath, "and that thing with Oz last night…are you trying to keep me and Kennedy apart?" he looked down, "Xander, I know that it's all, you know…but you can't keep doing this."

"I just think that maybe you should tell Oz," she started to say something, but he cut her off, "no, I mean, don't string him along. Don't do things, like this, behind his back. It's not right."

"We really did just bump into each other, whether you believe me or not, but…I know I should tell him. I just don't want to hurt him, and me and Kennedy had decided to just stay in our relationships anyways, so I don't know if I really should," she covered her hands with her face, "it's just so complicated. I'm ready. Like I feel like if Kennedy were to stomp back over, and tell me to break up with Oz to be with her, I would do it in a heartbeat, but she's not going to do it. She's with Rachel, and Rachel was there for her through all these hard times she went through," she looked over at her friend, "you know what she told me? She told me that she waited…she waited for me forever, and I just never went for it. So what gives me the right to do it now? What gives me the right to go and wreck the relationship that she got into when I wasn't there for her?"

Xander put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, "the fact that you love her, gives you every right in the world to go after her. As long as there's a possibility, you have the right to go for it."

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

Buffy scooped a pile of clothes off of the floor and threw them onto her sisters bed, taking care of her final task. She had been cleaning for a while, throwing anything that was Kennedy's into the bag she had found at the bottom of her closet, and she was finally about to be done. Cleaning had sort of cleared her mind, let her forget about the outside world and become completely wrapped up in straightening shelves, and picking up all of her sisters thing, so she was making sure to enjoy the few clothes that she had in front of her, because when the stack disappeared, her peace would go with it.

"Hey," Dawn said as she walked in.

Buffy smiled, "hey Dawnie," she picked up a shirt form the bed as her sister sat down at the other end, "look Dawn, about last night--"

"You don't have to explain, my eyes and ears are working just fine," she said as she watched her sister begin to fold one of her shirts. She had heard everything; the yelling; the slap, all of it was still fresh in her mind too, "you know, sometimes I wonder, why can't people just be honest?"

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked as she tossed her sister a shirt to fold, "like why do we lie?"

She started to fold, "no, why can't we just admit when we like someone," her sister froze, her flowing folding routine, coming to a halt, "it's so obvious Buffy, so don't even try to deny it," she put down the shirt she had folded, and reached for another one, "If you both would've just admitted as soon as you realized it, things would have turned out differently. You wouldn't have freaked out about noticing the ring on the necklace, which always wears by the way, you just didn't notice cause she would always puts it her shirt when you walk in the room."

"She would?" Buffy asked as she too sat down, once again feeling guilty, and sad.

"Yep, every single time. It was kind of funny actually, cause you never noticed, and you're a slayer, but I, the one that everyone thinks is oblivious to the world, notices it right away. I guess that's what watching people from afar does, it lets you see things that most people don't see. Buffy," she said seriously, "you screwed up."

"I know," the slayer said sadly.

Dawn shook her head, "I don't think you do. Faith, she's not the type that you can hurt and just expect to forgive you. She's the type that will try to forget all about you," she pushed the clothes aside so she could move closer to her sister, "you know that she has a hard time dealing…she's not going to come back with flowers and candy saying that she wants you to make up…she's not Angel," Buffy looked up at her suddenly, making her jump, "I know he's alive. that's where you go late at night, isn't it?…I told you I notice things."

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

"So what, you're saying that there's nothing I can do to fix this?" Faith asked, after hearing what Rachel had to say, "that it's just going to keep happening?"

"Pretty much," she said honestly.

Faith refused to believe that she couldn't go back to being the girl she used to be. The one that would go patrolling, take care of a few vamps, and then go get laid without feeling anything about it. She had always, been that Faith. That's who she was, there was no way that she was going to lose that. It was her life, and she was going to take control of it, "hey Rach," she said as her plan to be her old self came into sight, "you think by the time we get back Kennedy's gonna be riding the Willow train?"

Rachel frowned, not sure where the girl was going, but also noticing a bit of the old Faith making an appearance in the question ,"I'm betting on it actually," she turned over on her side and propped herself up on her elbow, "why?" Faith looked her over and raised her brows, and at first she thought that she was crazy, or that the girl was just playing, but there was no burst into laughter. There wasn't a 'I'm plaayin,' sort of remark, "Faith--"

She pushed the girl onto her back, and then straddled her, holding her wrists down on the bed, "they'll never have to know…"

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

"So you're saying that if I'm not sure about how I feel about Faith, but I know how I feel about Angel, I have to just make up my mind and pick one?" Buffy asked, now not so sure if she should've asked for her sister's advice. The girl had been going on and on about how she just needed to pick one of them, and leave the other one alone, but she didn't see how that was possible. She had to take Angel blood, because of how week he was, and Faith…well, they were both slayers, who patrolled the same areas, usually on the same nights, how was she going to ignore her if she was always there…or at least when she's in town she is, "I don't know Dawnie."

"I'm not saying that you can never talk to them again," she said clearing things up, "I'm just saying you have to stop playing with their emotions and choose," she had been trying to explain it for hours, each time only confusing the blonde even more, but now it seemed like she was finally getting through, and it felt good to finally be asked what her opinion was, "do you want to go out with Angel, who can go evil any second now," Buffy glared at her, "well it's true, or do you want Faith, where the insanity just comes naturally? Vampire, or girl that can sometimes be crazy…both of them aren't really good choices."

"Hey," Buffy said, hitting the girl with a pillow, "I have good taste…they're both nice," she said with a smile, "but…they're so different from each other. Angel's all serious and…serious, especially now. And Faith is all…well she's Faith. She's funny, and wreck lace. She's adventurous and nice…sometimes."

"And she'd do anything just to see you smile," Dawn added, she put her hand on her sister's shoulder, "I think we both know where this is going," she stood up and walked out of the room, leaving her sister to think about her next move, "and my work is done."

BR BR BR BR BR BR 

Willow knocked on the front door, trying hard not to seem nervous.

"Hi Willow," Joyce said as she opened the door with a smile, "are you here to see Buffy?" she asked as she moved to let the girl in.

"Actually I'm not today," Willow said as she continued to mess with the end of her sleeve, she had to do something, standing still just made her more anxious, "is Kennedy here?" she asked.

Dawn ran down the stairs, "she's taking a nap in Buffy's room…supposedly," she said as she approached the red head, "oh, don't tell Buffy. She's not supposed to know."

"Okay, thanks," Willow said as she walked over to the stairs. For a minute, she just stood there, her heart pounding, her hands shaking, knowing that what she was about to do was going to change her life forever, "okay," she started up with stairs, taking deep breaths as she did. What Xander had said really hit home for her. She noticed that she had forgotten that part of her that believe love was the most important thing, and that it couldn't be stopped. It was everything. But now she remembered. She knew that it was what really mattered, and nothing else. When she reached the top, she saw Buffy standing in Dawn's doorway, and stopped. Both of them having this knowing look, then, with a nod, she kept going, and Buffy headed downstairs. After what seemed like the longest walk ever, she finally made it to the door that Kennedy was behind, taking her supposed nap. She sighed, and then knocked softly, but no one answered. It made her worried, more nervous, 'oh god what if she left when no one was paying attention,' she knocked harder, hoping that the door would just fly open, and it did. It flew open, and there she was, in her pajamas with messy bed hair, "hi," she said with a smile.

Kennedy rubbed her eyes, making sure that she wasn't dreaming, and when she realized she wasn't, she too began to smile. She knew what was happening, what that moment meant, what that soft 'hi' meant. She opened the door wider, letting Willow walk in, both of them smiling from ear to ear, and just before the door closed, she whispered, "hi."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Alright, that was just a little, tiny, chapter…especially compared to my others, to top the last one off. Some things were resolved…some things weren't, and so now I can move forward, and re-create an episode without having to put a whole bunch of stuff in it yay!! No, I'm kidding, that's not why I did this, it was because I really wanted to push Willow and Kennedy closer each other, and push Faith away from everyone…and I think I did that pretty well. I mean she did just technically sleep with her sisters girlfriend, and push her feeling for Buffy back down. I watched Season 3, Episode 15, which is called Consequences today…yeah…let's just say I got a little reminder of how dark Faith really is, and so I realized that it's time for some of that classic Faith bad decision making. Now I can't wait to re-create that ep, and so I'm definitely pushing towards it…you guys should watch it, or re-watch it, 'cause I'm sure most of you have seen it, if not all of you, just to give you a little reminder of where she's gonna go…and then imagine the x10 I'm going to try and accomplish. Anyways…tell me what you though about this one, and thanks for reading. -ThomThom


	8. Sex, Chocolate, and Rebels Pt 1

-1Hey-lo…so sorry for the super long wait, I feel super bad about it. It took me a while to get back into the flow of everything, so I hope this chapter makes up for my lost time. Anyways…thanks for all the reviews by the way, and to be honest, with all of you, I hadn't really planned on bringing Rachel back, I was just going to unleash the drama with her away, but you guys gave me an idea by commenting about the two of them, so I am going to bring her back…just don't know when. In this chapter? In the next one? Not sure, but I hope for goodness when I do. But yeah, thanks for the reviews, the ideas, and for reading. I hope you like this version of 'Band Candy,' it was hell to write, just like all of the remakes…let me explain why, while I'm typing away. You see, I break that whole process down into steps. Step one: get some food, you're gonna be here for a while. Step two: get some paper and pen ready, and put you're thinking cap on. Step three: watch episode without taking notes. Step four: take some time to jot down anything you want to fit in that you already know. Step five: begin to write while keeping DVD ready for some dialogue notes: Step six: post at five o'clock in the morning, cause that's the time you usually finish, and go to bed. Sometimes there's even a step before step one, where I watch the episode after the one that I'm going to add my own twist to, just to know how far I can take it, but after I had a little marathon the other day, hopefully I won't have to do that too. So yeah, that's my writing routine, and let me tell you, there are lots of notes, in multiple journals, and in multiple styles, on all the episodes I've done…hard, long process. Re-writes, are hell…and yet so fun at the same time. All right, I'm done…hope you like this, and feel free to tell me what you think about it, and to give me more ideas, even if it is on 'accident'. -ThomThom

P.S. to **AlphaMilca**, it is interesting that you suggest that I don't go completely evil with Faith…especially since she was never completely evil on Buffy either, and I will tell you that I will not make her completely evil, but she is going to make some stupid mistakes that will get her into trouble. One thing that I've said, on the other website, is that I will be sticking, somewhat, to the original plot of season three, but I do promise to make a couple of things different. However, like most stories…some of the material won't be liked by the readers. Something has to happen that will piss the reader off, or it's not good. I hope that you will enjoy it more than you will be angry at it…hopefully.

Chapter Seven: Sex, Chocolate, and Rebels Pt. 1

It was nine-thirty, at night, and Willow was ready to go to bed. She had taken a shower, washed her hair, put on her pajamas, blow dried her hair, brushed her teeth, told her parents goodnight, and was back in her room pulling back her covers. Next, usually, she would lightly get into bed, after turning off the lights, pull the covers over her, and then go to sleep for the night, but tonight, and for the past couple of nights, that routine had changed to a more complicated routine. That, like many other changes in her life, was because of Kennedy. A month had passed since she had gone to the Summers' house to tell Kennedy that she wanted to be with her; a month since they had started sneaking around behind all of their friends…boyfriends, girlfriends, parents, watchers; everyone's back. No, they hadn't slept together, at least not in the sexual sense, but they had met many times at restaurants, and movie theaters, just so they could have some time alone together. The most current routine, which had been an accident the first time, was what changed her nightly routines.

Instead of laying down after she turned out the lights, Willow brushed her hair, until it looked flawless, changed her wide pajama top to a shirt she usually wore as an undershirt; the closest thing she had to a tank top, sprayed a spray of perfume on, and then stood, in the dark, staring at her double door windows. Her heart was pounding; her body temperature was rising; and her mind was flooding with all the feelings Kennedy made her feel, as she waited. Then, it came; that shadow spread across the windows, and there was a light tap. Willow practically ran to let the girl in, stopping to calm herself as her hands landed on the knobs, then she opened them, and there she was.

There was Kennedy, standing there in some shorts, a white tank, covered by a small black jacket, and some tennis shoes, breathing heavily. She had run the whole way, and it wasn't to escape any dangers, it was to get to Willow faster. To see the girl's smile sooner; to hear her voice; to feel her skin; to just be around her, that's what made her run.

She grinned, "hey beautiful."

With burning, red cheeks, Willow moved to let the girl in, her breath catching when Kennedy slid her hand down her arm as she walked by. She could hear the other girl unzipping her jacket as she locked the windows, making her a little nervous, though it wasn't the first night the girl had come, each night was the same, she would always get nervous.

"I set the alarm," she said as she turned around, and like she had thought, Kennedy had already taken off her jacket, and was sitting at the end of the bed untying her shoes, "how was the run?"

Kennedy laughed slightly, "Not short enough," she said as she took her shoes off. She moved them against the wall, and then walked over to Willow and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, "I missed you," the girl blushed harder, and her heart began to pace faster. She loved it when Willow blushed, it was so cute, and one of the things she loved about the girl, "even if I did see you earlier."

"Yeah, well that was three hours ago," Willow said with a smile, "that's a long time ago if you ask me."

"I'm glad you feel that way, 'cause that's exactly what I was thinking," she leaned forward, stopping just before their lips touched, "any time away from you, is too much time."

Willow closed the remaining space between them, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck, and they stood enjoying each other's soft lips. At first it was simple, their lips pressed together, not moving at all, but as usual, it didn't stay that way for long. Willow felt Kennedy open her mouth, felt the girl's tongue run across her bottom lip, and she herself opened her mouth to let the girl inside. They kissed in long soft strokes of the tongue, both moaning as they began to move their hands and rub the other's skin. Both of them began to breathe heavily, the need for oxygen growing, but they didn't want to part. They didn't want the warmth to escape them, so they pushed hard to not draw back, pulling each other's body closer, until they could feel every inch of each other.

But eventually, they did have to part, and it was Kennedy who pulled back first, putting her head against Willow's as she caught her breath, "we should…go to sleep," she whispered. It wasn't that she didn't want to keep going, she did, but she knew--she knew Willow wasn't ready, "we should go to bed Will."

"Okay," she said with a nod. It was clear what Kennedy was doing, that she was stopping things before they went any further, not saying that they should lie down and keep going, which is exactly what she wanted to do…or at least that's what she thought. It was getting harder and harder to know what she was, or wasn't ready for, and of course that was partly due to the fact that the girl had been coming over to spend the night for the last week. What else could possibly happen when she was around someone that made her heart pound in her chest, and her body tingle?

"Alright," Kennedy pulled her arms from around the girl's waist, and then went over to the left side of the bed, which they had deiced should be her side, just incase she needed to make a quick exit, pulled back the covers, and laid down. When she saw that Willow hadn't moved, and was just staring at her, she pulled the covers back further, tapping the space next to her, "you coming?"

Willow laughed nervously, her body was still on fire, "yeah," she walked over slowly, and laid down where she wasn't facing Kennedy, not sure she could meet those brown eyes without starting things up again.

For a moment, Kennedy just stared at Willow, wanting the girl to turn over, when she saw that she wasn't going to, she pulled the covers over both of them, and wrapped her arm around the other girl, "the alarm's set right?"

"Yep," Willow said simply.

"You smell really good," Kennedy said as she kissed the girl's shoulder. "Goodnight."

Willow moved over, pushing her back into the girl's torso, "goodnight."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Meanwhile, in a Sunnydale cemetery, Buffy sat on a blanket, staring up at Giles, who was on the other side of a large gravestone, reading from a booklet.

"'And on that tragic day, an era came to its inevitable end'. That's all there is. Are you ready?" he asked seriously.

She nodded and picked up her pencil, "hit me."

"Which of the following best expresses the theme of the passage?" he paused, hoping that she would finally get one of the questions right, so far, things weren't going so well, with their little study session. In fact, the slayer was doing horribly, "'A': violence breeds violence… 'B': all things must end… 'C'--"

"'B' I'm going with 'B'," Buffy said suddenly, "we haven't had a 'B' in forever."

He sighed, "This is the S.A.T. s, Buffy, not connect-the-dots. Please pay attention. A low score could seriously harm your chances of getting into college."

Buffy frowned, "Gee, thanks. That takes the pressure right off," she paused to think, "you know what, you always do that. Any time something's all hard and…impossible, you make it worse telling me how important it is," the man opened his mouth to speak, so she kept going, "I know, it's a rite of passage, or whatever. Can I just join one of those tribes, where they pierce something, or cut something off? Not the one that makes you stand in a fire ant pile, 'cause that seems a little too dramatic for me, but I'm all for the piercing, and I think I could live without an arm. I mean--"

"Buffy," Giles said, cutting the girl off, "please concentrate."

Buffy spotted a vampire jumping out of the shadows; lunging at her watcher, "roll!" she said as she stood up and ran towards him.

He frowned, confused, "what?" once he saw that she was lunging to attack something, flipping over the gravestone to do it; he ducked and moved out of the way.

She kicked the vampire in the chest, making him stumble to the ground, and went to stake him, with her pencil, but he flipped backwards up to his feet. They threw punches at each other, blocking each blow, then she ducked under one, and hit him in the stomach. Once recovered from the blow, he lunged at her, but instead of hitting her, she reached under his arm and staked him.

She looked at her pencil, "Hmm. I broke my number two pencil. We'll have to this again sometime," she said happily, as she went to pick up the blanket.

As Buffy walked by, Giles stuck his hand out in front of her, already looking down at the booklet, with another pencil in his hand, " 'C': all systems tend towards chaos."

Buffy took the pencil, and sat back down, "I just know that us and the undead are the only people in Sunnydale working this late," she said pouting.

"Well, we wouldn't be studying, and patrolling, at the same time, if Faith was here," he turned the page, "I just don't understand why she'd stay for so long, and then leave for no reason. Have you heard from her?" he asked.

Buffy knew that Faith didn't just leave for no reason, that she had in fact left because of her, but there was no way she could tell Giles what had happened that night. That she went to a gay bar, got drunk, almost confessed her feelings, and then gone so crazy on Faith, that the girl left, and hadn't been heard from sense, "No, I haven't heard from her," she said sadly. "I'm sure she'll come back…eventually."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

At school the following day, Buffy, Willow, and Oz were walking down the stairs to the corridor, heading back inside the school. Each of them had had a long night, Buffy with all of her studying, and patrolling; Willow, who had woken up in the middle of the night to find herself still wrapped in Kennedy's arms, and though it was very nice, it wasn't so easy for her body to handle; and Oz had a gig the night before out of town, so he was tired from the drive back. Nevertheless, it was another school day, and so there they were; at school.

Buffy's day was already getting to a rough start, "And then I was being chased by an improperly filled-in answer bubble screaming 'None of the above!'", she said, describing the nightmare that she had had.

"Wow. I hope that wasn't one of your prophecy dreams," Willow said, in a worried tone. Buffy and Oz gave her a look, making her realize how odd that would be, "Probably not."

"You know, I took it last year. I could help you get ready. There's this whole trick to antonyms, but uh…," he looked around at all the people, "this isn't the place."

Willow smiled, "Oz is the highest-scoring person ever to fail to graduate."

Buffy looked over to Oz, "Isn't she cute when she's proud?"

"She's always cute."

A couple of weeks ago, a comment like that would have made her blush. It would have made her feel something, but now, she felt nothing. Hardly anything Oz did really had an effect on her anymore, and she knew exactly why, "we could work on it tonight," she said, continuing the conversation.

"Work on what tonight?" Xander asked, as him, Cordelia, and Kennedy walked up.

"Oh, God. Are we killing something again?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy laughed, "Only my carefree spirit."

"Buffy S.A.T. prep," Oz said, explaining what their conversation had been about.

"Oz is helping," while she said this, Willow kept her eyes on Kennedy, who was walking coolly, with her hands in her pocket. She had meant for her words to be a message, a sort of, 'he's going to help, and I'm gonna be with you,' thing, but it didn't seem like Kennedy had really gotten it, which made her worry. Something had to be on the girl's mind, and she wanted to know what it was. There was just one problem, they weren't alone, and so she couldn't ask.

Cordelia looked at Willow, "And…" she said, expecting the girl to continue.

Willow frowned, "And…?"

"Aren't you going to tell us how Oz is the highest-scoring person ever to fail to graduate?" Cordelia asked suspiciously.

"And I thought we were going to be spared," Kennedy said with a smile, "You brag, we pretend to be impressed. Though," she looked over at Oz, "I assure you, I am, I'm just not so impressed after the hundredth time I hear about it."

"I completely understand," Oz said with a nod. He too, had found it strange that Willow, though she had just said it, did not bring up his high score. It wasn't that he wanted her to brag about him, it was just that, it was something that she would do. One of the things that make her Willow.

Buffy noticed that Oz had his thinking face on, and slowed her pace, "hey Will, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," Willow said, wondering what her friend wanted to talk to her about.

Kennedy, on the other hand, knew exactly what the slayer was doing, "hope it's not super private, I'm heading that way."

"No," Buffy said, glad to see that Kennedy got the message, "not super private, just no boys," she looked at Cordelia, "or snobs aloud."

"No boys," Oz gave Willow a hug, "I'll see you later."

She smiled, "yeah," was all she could manage.

After walking in silence, for about a minute, Buffy turned around to face the two other girls, almost slamming into them as she did, "You guys are really going to have to work on this whole sneaking around thing. Not the actual act of, but you know, the glowy aftermath, or the lack of brain activity. Kennedy, the silence is a killer, and Willow, the whole staring at her from the corner of your eyes thing really isn't that stealth."

"I know," Willow said, embarrassed, "sorry. It's just that she was all silent, and so I was all worried so I couldn't help myself, it's not my fault that she thinks it's okay to be all silent around me I'm obviously going to worry. Hello, I'm Willow," she looked at Kennedy, "You're okay right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said simply, but by the looks she was receiving from both Willow and Buffy, she knew she'd have to be a little more convincing, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about tonight, and how I want it to be perfect. The detailed planning makes it kind of hard to keep with the surrounding conversation. Sorry."

"Aw," Buffy said, with a smile, "that's so cute," satisfied with what Kennedy had said, Buffy decided that they could now continue their walk, "Don't you think it's cute Will?"

"Very cute," Willow said simply. In her head, it was more of a, 'Too cute.'

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

It was another sunny afternoon at the Summers' house, and Buffy and Joyce were already sitting down, at the island in the kitchen, eating while Dawn and Kennedy were yet to make an appearance. Buffy saw the time alone with her mother as a perfect opportunity to try to sell the band candy Snyder was making the whole entire school sale.

"But you're not in the band," said Joyce, confused as to why her daughter had band candy in the first place.

"That's exactly what I said, but he hit me with the comeback, 'if I were handing you a trombone, Summers, there would be a problem,' so here I am. Not in the band, and selling band candy."

"Buffy, what would I do with forty chocolate bars?"

After a moment, Buffy came up with a solution, "You could hand them out at a gallery. 'By something pre-Columbian, get a free cavity'," she said with a smile.

Joyce sighed, "twenty."

"You're a good mom."

"I'm the best," Joyce added, before she took another bite of her food.

Buffy waited until her mom took a bite, knowing that if the woman had food in her mouth, it would give her time to make her next move without Joyce being able to protest, "No, I'm pretty sure the best moms let their daughter drive."

Dawn walked into the kitchen and laughed, having heard what her sister had just said, "So do the worst," she looked over at Buffy, who shot her a look, "Well, they do," she grabbed a powdered donut, and went to sit on top of the counter, next to the sink, "please, continue. This is morning entertainment for me."

"Let's not have this conversation," Joyce said as she got up to get her something to drink. After she poured herself a glass of lemonade, she turned back to her eldest daughter, "have you heard from Faith?"

"That's a popular question," Buffy said, slightly annoyed by the fact that both the adults, that were running her life, seemed to always make of the one person she tried not to think of. It's not that she didn't miss Faith, she did miss her, in fact she thought about her every night, but it was hard to always have the little reminder of the fact that she was the reason the girl wasn't there in the first place, "and no, I haven't."

"Well, did she at least tell you where she was going?" asked Joyce.

"Rehab," Kennedy said, as she walked into the kitchen. Everyone one in the kitchen just stared at her silently, obviously taking her seriously, "I was kidding guys."

"Oh," Buffy said, relieved. It wasn't like rehab wasn't a possibility, Faith did have alcohol issues, so she just thought that maybe Kennedy had heard from her, and that's where she told her she was, but she was glad to hear that Kennedy was just joking. This was her chance to get back to what she was trying to do before Dawn, and Kennedy, came into the kitchen, "Kennedy drives," she blurted.

Kennedy went to stand by Dawn, "she's doing this again?" she asked, in a whisper.

"Yep," Dawn said, simply.

"Kennedy has her license," Joyce said, as she sat back down.

"But I took the class. I watched the filmstrips with the blood and the death and the corpses. I'm prepped," the slayer said in a whinny voice.

Kennedy laughed, "didn't you fail the written test?"

"Oh, yeah," Dawn said, before her sister could respond, "they wouldn't even let her take the driving test. They were too afraid after seeing how bad she did on the written," she paused, "I personally wouldn't feel safe in a car with her."

"Mom, that was a year ago, and I don't test well," she wasn't going to give up just because it was a three against one fight. It wasn't fair that she didn't get to drive, everyone else her age could drive, if they wanted to, so she didn't understand why she couldn't.

"I spend enough time not knowing where you are, I don't want to add to that the possibility that you're on the highway to Chicago," the woman said, standing her ground.

"That's a good point," Kennedy said, still whispering next to Dawn.

"Says the other runaway child," Dawn said, with a smile.

"Retired runaway," Kennedy added.

"I can't believe you," Buffy said, continuing on her mission, "I'm not going to take off again. Besides, if I wanted to I could just get on a bus."

"Stop. Don't," Joyce said, seriously, and a little angrily. Her daughter's way of joking about all the things she considered to be serious, wasn't going to be accepted in terms of the time she spent worrying about her daughter over the summer. She just couldn't see any humor in it, and it made her angry, that Buffy could, "I just don't want you driving, OK? I want you here."

"I'm here. Hmm?" she picked up a donut, "see me here. Mm-hmm?" then she put it in her mouth, and stood up, "Mmm…I got to go."

"What, you're going out?" asked Joyce.

"Giles. Slay-study double feature. Could be late," Buffy said as she headed out of the kitchen, "hey, Kenn, you wanna come? Possibly give me a ride?" she asked with a smile.

"Can't, cars out of business, and I have to work on it before…well, you know," Kennedy looked to Dawn, "you wanna help?"

"Possibly," Dawn said, trying to act like she wasn't jumping up and down inside. There was no way that she was going to miss Kennedy fixing her car, which she did in a muscle shirt and some torn jeans. No way. But, she also had some plans of her own, so she wouldn't be able to enjoy the show for long.

"Right, well okay, I'm leaving then," Buffy said, as she continued to inch out of the room. She didn't exactly like the way Dawn was looking at Kennedy, all dreamy, and lusty, but there was no time to question it, she was late, and she knew it.

"Honey," Joyce said, stopping her daughter, "don't you think Mr. Giles is monopolizing an awful lot of your time?" she asked.

Buffy looked at her mom, "and does he ever say sorry?" then she exited the room.

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Dawn sat on the curb as Kennedy laid beneath her car, fixing whatever it is that was broken. She had asked what was wrong with it, but it only ended in much confusion her part, and so she decided to just sit in watch.

"So what are you and Willow up to tonight?" she asked, as she stared at the older girl's exposed abs, "anything that will make my heart melt?"

"Well," she came from under her car, oil all over her hands and shirt, "I know that we're going to an expensive restaurant, 'cause my dad sent me some money, and since it's my night to pay, I really want to break out of the whole going to the movies routine. Then we'll probably just hang out for a bit, and go back to her place," Dawn raised her eyebrows, making her laugh, "to go to sleep…literally."

"Uh huh, sure," she said, with smile, "so that's where you've been sneaking off to?"

"You knew?" she asked, hoping that her rush to get to Willow, had made her lose all of her sneaking out skills.

"Well, sometimes I'd get up for a morning snack, and see you running through the yard," she paused, "don't worry, your sneaking out skills are still in tact," Kennedy looked at her and smiled, letting her know that she had read the girl's mind perfectly, "see, you have sneaking skills, and I have mind reading skills. That means I would have figured it out anyways."

"Is that what that means?" she asked laughing, then she stopped, letting herself get serious, "so you've noticed Buffy leaving too, then?"

"Yeah, I've noticed," Dawn replied, knowing what question was coming next.

Kennedy sighed, "is my sister back? Is that where Buffy goes? 'Cause I've just been getting these feelings--"

Dawn frowned, "what kind of feelings?" she asked, curiously. She knew exactly where her sister was sneaking off to at night, and it had nothing to do with what Kennedy had asked, so she couldn't help but wonder why Kennedy thought Faith was back.

"Like…I don't know, she's watching me," she moved to sit on the curb next to Dawn, "Like, last night, when I was on the way here, to get ready for school, I felt like I was being followed, so I did a circle around, to you know, try and see if I could trick them into showing themselves, but they never did. The only person I know who can, basically stalk, like that is Faith. As bad as that sounds. Then, at school today, I just kept feeling her around me. I would be walking with the others and think I see her out of the corner of my eye, but when I looked, she wasn't there," she paused, "That's why I asked if that's where Buffy's been going."

"Well," Dawn said, now wondering herself, what was going on, "I didn't think she was going to see Faith, but I can check it out," Kennedy started to protest, but she stopped her, "there's no changing my mind. It doesn't really matter, I was going to follow her today anyways. In fact," she stood up, "it's time for me to go," after staring down at Kennedy for a moment, she smiled slightly, wanting the girl to feel better, "I'll get back to you, about the whole Faith thing."

"Thanks Dawnie," Kennedy said, sincerely. Then she added, as the girl took off, "be careful," once Dawn was around the corner, she looked back at her car, "I think I'll be walking today," she said sadly. She stood up, wiped her hands on her pants, and headed back to the house, that feeling stirring within her once again, "I know you're here," she said, loud enough for the neighbors to even here. Then she whispered, "And I know something's wrong with you."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

"Ow," Buffy said, as Giles tied a blindfold over her eyes, he had caught a hair. They were in the library about to start the training he had planned for her, and the first task included a blindfold.

"Sorry," he said as he continued to tie the blindfold.

"Why do I put up with this?" she asked, wondering what her watcher had in store for her training. They had already studied for the S.A.T. studying, which was actually more like another session of connect-the-dots, in her opinion, but she did it, and that's what mattered…or that's how she saw it.

"Because it is your destiny, and because I just bought twenty 'cocorific' candy bars," he handed her a medium sized, red ball, which she almost dropped, and then started to circle around her.

"Ok, you're just doing this to take funny pictures of me," Buffy said, as she traced his movements.

"I'm doing it to test your awareness of an opponent's location during a fight in total darkness. Now, wait five seconds and then throw the ball at me," he circled around her one more time, and then went to stand a couple of feet away from her.

"you ran out of new training ideas about a week ago, huh? Ok. Five, four, three, two," she turned in the opposite direction of him, knowing exactly what she was doing, said 'one', and then threw the ball.

Giles smiled, "it's not that simple, is it--" the ball, which the slayer had thrown at a wall, bounced off the wall, and hit him in the head, "Ow. Ahem. Yes, well, very good," he said, a little shocked that she so easily went through the first test. He thought it would at least take a couple of tries first, but obviously, he had been wrong.

"Thanks," Buffy said as she took off the blindfold. Then she headed for the doors.

"Where are you going? We have to patrol," he said, as he stood and watched her as she prepared to leave.

"I can't," she stopped, and turned to him, "Mom's in hyper drive. She wants me home tonight. I told you."

"But--I--"

"I know, I know. She's out of control," she walked out of the door, leaving the man standing there, and yelling back, "Enjoy the candy," but her rush to get out of the library, which had nothing to do with her mother, was cut a little short when she practically ran right into her sister, as she rounded a corner, "Dawn."

"Buffy," Dawn said, as she crossed her arms, "where you going?"

Buffy stepped around her sister, annoyed that the girl was following her, and continued to make her way out of the school, "home, of course. Where else would I go?"

"I don't know," Dawn said, trying to keep up with her sister's fast pace, "maybe to see Angel," she paused to see if Buffy was going to say something, but she said nothing, "Remember, the whole no more emotion toying? I can monitor."

The slayer stopped walking for a moment, "fine, you can come," she said, when she started to walk again, "but I'm only letting you go because it's dark, and I can't let you walk home by yourself, and if I ask Giles to take you, he'll know I'm not going home. This has nothing to do with me needing to be monitored. I don't toy with emotions."

After a long walk, including a stop at a butcher shop, full of arguing about Buffy decision making skills, they arrived at Angel's to see him doing tai chi in the back porch area, which stopped Buffy in her tracks.

Dawn noticed this, and laughed, "Totally not sexy," she said as she went to sit on the couch, catching Angel's attention as she did, "Kennedy does it all the time, and when she does it, it's all…how can I…?"

"How about you don't," Buffy said, cutting her sister off. She went over to Angel, "I didn't know you could do that."

"I--I'm feeling better," he said, finding it hard to breathe, even after the small workout he had just finished. Then, because he was more weak then he thought, his legs gave out, and he started to fall.

"Angel!" Buffy said, as she ran to catch him. He put his arm around her, and she helped him over to the couch, "let's get you inside," once he was comfortably sitting on the couch, Buffy herself went to sit down, at first next to him, but then in a different chair, after Dawn decided to take up more space on the couch.

"It's late," Angel said looking between his two guests, "how'd you both get away?" he asked. The actual question was, 'why did you bring Dawn?' but he didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings by asking. Even if he knew, she probably wouldn't care, just because he was saying it.

"Buffy lied to Giles, and Mom," Dawn blurted, "just to see you. Oh," she put the bag, with the blood from the butcher shop next to him, "and to feed you."

"Thanks," he picked up the bag and started to take the blood out, but then stopped, feeling a little odd about eating around either one of them.

"No problem," Dawn said, with a fake smile. She noticed that he suddenly moved oddly, tilting his head up slightly, like he smelt something, and then his quick look outside, making her wonder if maybe…someone was watching.

Angel turned to Buffy, "how's Faith?"

"I don't know," she paused, thinking how once again someone seemed to remind her of what she had done, "Fine, I guess."

"You're being careful, right?" he asked.

Buffy started to answer; to question what he meant by 'careful', but Dawn stood up suddenly, distracting her, "what are you doing?" she asked.

Angel's sudden scent detecting, followed by that question, was enough for Dawn to worry, "We have to go," she said, as she reached down and grabbed her sister's arm, "where's the most expensive restaurant in Sunnydale?" she asked.

"What's going on, Dawn?" the slayer asked.

Angel stood up, "it's hidden off of the main street," he said.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, again.

"I'll explain on the way," Dawn said, as she continued to pull her sister along, "we have to find Kennedy, something's not right with--I'll explain on the way."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Kennedy held the bouquet of flowers, that she had gotten for Willow, close to her body, trying not to let the winds hit the pedals and blow them away. Her original plan was to go get Willow, in her car, and take her to the restaurant, but since her car wasn't working, she was having to meet the girl there. It took a while, but eventually, Willow had convinced her mother to take her, after saying that it was to meet a study group of some kind. Because of this, and the fact that she knew Willow didn't like to lie, she had stopped on the way to get flowers, hoping that it would make up for the problems of the date, so far.

Just when she was about to turn onto the street the restaurant was on, she got that feeling again, and stopped to look around, hoping that she'd finally spot her sister following her, but, as usual, she turned to see nothing, so she kept walking. She took a couple of more steps, and then heard footsteps behind her. This, she thought was the perfect opportunity to catch her sister, since she was obviously close. She threw down the flowers, turned and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, and it was a person, just not the person she thought she would see.

"I don't have any money," the frightened woman said, as she stared into the girl's eyes.

Kennedy sighed, "I'm sorry," she let go of the woman's shirt, and watched her as she ran off, "I must be going crazy," she said, as she ran her fingers through her hair. After a moment, she went over to pick up the flowers, which were pretty much ruined, "great," she started to bend down, but before her hand could reach the flowers, she felt a hand go over her mouth, and her body yank back. Once she was able to recover from the shock, she noticed that she was being pulled into an alley. Whoever was pulling her was strong, none of her attempts to move out of their reach, were even close to successful. Then they stopped, with their hand still covering her mouth, and their other hand twisting Kennedy's arm behind her back. That feeling that she had felt before, it was stronger than ever, she knew who was holding her.

"Hey little sis. You miss me?"

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, well that's the first part. Hope you liked it, and have questions. Once again, I apologize for the wait, I hope to make up for it completely. Be looking for the next part, and tell me what you thought about this one. Thanks for reading. -ThomThom


	9. Sex, Chocolate, and Rebels Pt 2

-1Hey guys, told you it would be soon…or at least sooner than the last one. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, and thanks for reading in general, I really appreciate it. I'm glad you're liking the chapter so far, cause there's a lot of the episode left to cover. Once I realized that I had only covered 7 MINUTES of the actual episode, I went nuts….geeze, there's a lot left. So here's the rest of it, I'm sure it's extremely long…if I finished the ep….but hopefully it will be good, so you'll feel compelled to read the whole thing at one, and tell me what you thought about it. Hope you like it, and again, thanks for reading.-ThomThom

P.S. really, really sorry about the wait, but it's been pretty busy for me lately, and I'm not completely back into the groove of writing. If you could just bare with me for a couple of weeks, I should get the hang of things again. It's just kind of hard to sit down and write after not doing it for so long, and when you read novels as much as I do, it gets even harder. Anyways, I'll get there.

Chapter Seven: Sex, Chocolate, and Rebels Pt. 2

"Hey little sis. You miss me?" Faith asked, with a wide grin across her face. She let Kennedy go, "sorry about the surprise attack, Buffy and Dawn are heading this way, so I had to move quick."

Kennedy stood across from her sister, her heart pounding in her chest, just staring at her. Something about Faith's composure was making her uneasy, scared even, "so you drag me into a fucking alley, like a fucking rapist?" she asked, still panting, "what the fuck Faith?"

"Relax Junior," Faith said; while still smiling, "I just can't deal with blondie right now," she let her smile fade, "you understand, right?"

Considering what had happened the last time Faith had been with Buffy, Kennedy understood why her sister didn't want to see the other slayer. What she didn't understand was why Faith hadn't called her to tell her to just meet her somewhere; why she had been hiding and stalking, "Yeah, I understand."

"Cool," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, "you got a light?" she asked. Kennedy shook her head, so she put it back in her pocket, "So, how's it going? You okay?"

"No, not really," she answered, honestly, "you've been following me around for days, making me worry, and then you drag me into an alley like this--no, I'm not okay. The question is," she paused, looking her sister dead in the eyes, "are you okay?"

Faith shrugged, "I'm five by five."

Before she could say something about her sister's usual response, Faith walked away from her, heading down the back way of the alley. Leaving her standing there in the shadows, "just what I thought you'd say," she whispered to herself.

"You comin?" Faith asked, as she continued to walk.

"I--" she looked back towards the restaurant, where she knew Willow was waiting for her, and then at her sister. She knew that inside the restaurant, Willow was waiting for her to arrive, probably beginning to panic, but when she looked at her sister--when she saw that darkness, climbing from within the slayer, she knew what she had to do; what was more important, "Yeah, I'm coming."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

"Dawn slow down," Buffy said, grabbing her sister's arm, making her turn to face her, "why would Faith do that, why would she be following Kennedy around like that? She loves her."

Dawn heard the sadness in her sister's voice; the sadness that came with those three words, and knew that, on the inside, Buffy was breaking down, "you loved Angel," she said simply, knowing that her sister would know what it meant.

Buffy looked away, a little shocked by what her sister had just said, and what it meant, "she would never--she has no reason to."

"Then why is she back and why is she following Kennedy around…and us, obviously, like that? Buffy, something's not right. Kennedy knows it, Angel knows it, I know it…and you know it too. Of all the people in the world, she would never torture Kennedy, like she has been, unless something was wrong."

For a moment, the slayer stood there, staring down at the ground. It wasn't until it started to rain, that she looked up at her sister, "you're wrong. She's hiding…she's hiding, because she doesn't want to see me. Why would she?" she paused, "You want to know why she's back? She's here to get Kennedy, and then get the hell away from here."

"That still doesn't explain…"

"No, it explains everything!" the slayer said, angrily, "Just leave it alone. It's none of our business…not anymore."

"You and Faith might not be all buddy-buddy, anymore, but I'm still friends with Kennedy," Dawn said, seriously, "and I'm not going to take any chances. We both know that Faith isn't the most stable person in the world, Buffy. Just admit it; something's always been off with her."

Buffy shook her head, "No, that is not true. You don't know her."

Dawn turned to keep walking, "Neither do you," she looked over her shoulder, "we just have to make sure, Buffy. If you're right, you're right. We just have to make sure."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

"Another cheap motel?" Kennedy asked, as she followed Faith into her motel room, "I'll never understand why you stay in these places, when you have money."

"I do it, because I have money," she moved her clothes off of the bed, so Kennedy could sit down, and then sat on the floor, against the wall, across from her sister, "This is where I want to want to be, you know?"

Kennedy did know. She had traveled around with her sister for years at a time, she knew why her sister stayed in places that were dirty, and dangerous. It was because that's how she felt inside. She felt that low down, that cheap, and worthless. Faith had always felt that way, no matter if they were at their parent's mansion, in a cheap motel, or at Giles's, "What's going on Faith?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear it, but she knew she would have to ask for her sister to tell her, and even then--she didn't know if she'd get the truth.

She didn't answer right away. No, she had to think; to choose her words wisely before she spoke, because she was speaking to the one person who knew who she was, "I'm not bad. Like, I'm not a bad person or anything, but I feel so--I feel like, no matter what I do, something inside me, just can't be who everyone wants me to be. I can't be that girl that saves the world, or that girl who gets close to everyone, and lives for everyone else. I can't do that."

"No one's asking you to."

Faith laughed, "Everyone's asking me to," she said, "I was born to…but I can't. Not now, not ever, and I don't want to, because when I try to be that person--when I lie like that, people get hurt…I get hurt," she paused, "I'm falling apart, and I'm falling hard. All these things that I keep doing, and I don't know why, but I do it, and I'm just fucking setting myself up. I'm setting myself up."

Kennedy got off the bed, and kneeled down in front of her sister, who was now holding her knees, and put her hands on her shoulders, "what'd you do?" she asked, but for some reason it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right to just skip over what her sister was feeling, to whatever she had done. She would have never done that before, never assume that her sister was instantly guilty, but for some reason the lines of someone being good or evil had been blurred, and she couldn't understand why, "No, I didn't mean--Faith."

"No, it's fine," she shrugged, "I uh, I deserve it. The whole sneak attack earlier, and the way I've been acting, what else should I expect? I just don't know how to control it, whatever it is, I can't control it," she laughed, "I'm so fucked up."

"Who isn't?" Kennedy asked, also laughing. She looked at her sister and smiled, "God, I've missed you," she pulled her sister into a hug, squeezing her tight, "whatever it is, it doesn't matter, okay? It doesn't matter?"

"No," Faith said, holding on to her sister, as if for dear life, "this time it matters, because I did it to you."

Kennedy pulled back, "what do you mean, you did it to me?" her sister looked away from her, "Faith--what did you do?"

Still not looking at her sister, Faith said, "I tried to get Rachel to sleep with me," Kennedy stood up, moving back to the bed, letting her know that what she had said hurt, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? It's just that, I was hurting, and she was hurting--She fucking knew Kenn, she knew that you and Willow were going to do this while we were gone, so I thought--"

"So, what, you thought you mind as well sleep with her?" Kennedy asked, angrily, "Play with her head like that? I mean, we both know she would be just like all the other notches in your head board."

"Play with her head? You're the one to be fucking talking. It's like you forgot all about all the stuff that happened when Mom died; when Dad started drinking; when I bailed on you, she was the one that was there for you. She took care of you, and you just walked away from her," Faith went over to her sister, still sitting on the floor, and put her hands on Kennedy's knees, "The one thing you never would have done before, you've done it. First you said you would never get serious with anyone, then it changed to you wouldn't let them get too attached, and in the end you said, of all things, you would never cheat; you would never hurt them that way. But here we are," she paused, "here we both are."

"What I did, is completely different," Kennedy said, angrily, "Don't act like it's just as bad, 'cause it's not."

"No, I'm not--"

"You're my sister. Of all the things in the world--what I did doesn't compare."

Faith sighed, "that's not what I meant. What I mean is, we've both done something we wouldn't have ever done. You cheated on Rachel, and I betrayed you," she laughed, "I even started liking girls."

Kennedy laughed, "you're not funny," she tried to stop herself from laughing, but it was no use. Of all the things she could do, could say, laughing was the only thing that came out of her. It was like, things were so serious, so bad, that everything just seemed to be funny. How did they end up where they were? In a way, Kennedy knew that it was a possibility that Faith and Rachel would turn to each other. They were both hurt, so she knew it was possible. In fact, part of her wanted it to happen. It would save her from having to admit she was the bad one, "We're so fucked up," she said, still laughing.

"I know," Faith said, as she too continued to laugh, "and of all the fucking people in the world, I fell for Buffy, the person that's everything I don't want to be…what the hell is that?"

"Hey, look at me and Willow. I mean not to say that she's a nerd, she's just--and I'm--" after laughing a while longer, they both sat on the bed in silence, then Kennedy broke it, "what are we gonna do? We're both turning into someone we don't want to be, we have to do something, and you're the one that makes the decisions."

"How did that happen, by the way? I'm the one with all the head problems, but I get to make the decisions?" she looked to Kennedy, who just nodded, "Okay, honestly, and I know you might not like this plan, but I have to say it. I think it's the best thing we could do, if we're going to stick together, and--"

"Faith," Kennedy said, cutting the girl off, "just say it."

"I mean, you don't have to agree to it right away or anything, because it's such a--"

"Faith!"

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Buffy and Dawn walked down their street slowly, not really in a rush to get home after the night they had had. What Dawn had originally thought was going to be the perfect opportunity to show Buffy that she was still stringing Angel along, turned into a run-around-town, sort of thing to make sure that Faith, Buffy's other victim, wasn't going nuts. Buffy hadn't really planned for any of it to happen. Yeah, she was going to give Angel food and everything, but she hadn't expected her sister to tag along, and she definitely hadn't planned on going around looking for Kennedy to make sure Faith hadn't hurt anyone. All of it just seemed impossible, despite what her sister had said, and so she was set on not believing it, especially after going to the restaurant to see that neither Willow, Kennedy, or Faith were there.

"So you really just think that Kennedy's with Willow?" Dawn asked, noticing that her sister was still lost in her own thoughts on the matter.

"Yeah, I do," Buffy looked over at her sister, "I mean, they had this whole romantic night thing planned, so I doubt that Kennedy would just blow it off, and leave Willow there by herself to get home."

They were silent for a moment, then Dawn started to talk, "I just hope you know Faith as well as you think you do."

"Dawn, despite all the drama going on between Faith and me, when it comes down to it, we both know each other very well. Just the slayer connection alone, gives us this insight, you know?" she thought about all the things she had gone through since she had become a slayer, and compared them to Faith's situations, and knew that hers did not compare. She hadn't lost her mother, and thought that it was her fault, or turned into a drunk to ease the pain. There were so many differences between them, that maybe, just maybe, she didn't know the other slayer as well as she thought, "Maybe," she said, coming out of her thoughts, "maybe, it would have been better if Faith would have talked to Kennedy tonight, if something's going on. That might help her deal."

"Maybe," Dawn said, noticing her sister's slight change in attitude, "but maybe not," they both stopped, now being in front of their house, and looked at each other, "Maybe that would be the worst possible thing that could happen," her sister looked away from her, "Look, Buffy," she said, making the girl look up, "I know that I'm jumping directly to the dark side of things--"

"Yeah, you are," the slayer mumbled.

"But, it's best that we do. I mean considering all the things we've gone through with--all the things we've gone through, we should both be going there," she paused, "What if going to Kennedy only means that she has to put her best face on? I mean, Kennedy is the one, and only," she emphasized, "person that could possibly figure her sister out before we could even blink, so what if she wants to get to Kennedy first, to win her over? That would mean that she'd have Kennedy to defend any stupid thing that she does. I just don't know," she looked over at Kennedy's parked car, "This sort of thinking has a way of forcing itself inside me, so I can't help but wonder."

"I know," Buffy said, as she too looked over, "I mean, both of them mean so much to--" she looked at Dawn, knowing how the girl felt about Kennedy, "to both of us. But, no matter what happens," she took her sister's hand, "We'll have each other, and I think that's all that matters in the end…family," they hugged for a moment, both of them sort of needing something to keep them calm, then Buffy pulled back, and looked at the house, "Is that a light in the window?" she wondered.

Dawn looked over, "Great." she said, now expecting her mother to be waiting on the other side of the door, "We should probably head in then," she looked at Buffy, "We're good right? I mean we're not going to let this drive a wedge between us, or anything? Because, I just really got you back, after the whole running away thing, and so I really don't want--Then this whole thing with you and Faith is what really got us talking, so if she leaves, what will we talk about? I just really don't want--"

"Dawn," Buffy said, stopping the girl from babbling, "nothing will every tear us apart, I promise."

They turned and walked up to the door, their arms wrapped around each other's waist, "What if you run away again, I mean Mom's probably about to go nuts on us," Dawn said, with a smile.

"Well," Buffy said, returning the smile, "I'll just have to take you with me," she put her hand on the door knob, "Mom shouldn't be mad though, I told her I'd be with Giles training, really late tonight. We'll just say you followed me…if I say I let you tag along, she'll no something's up."

"True," Dawn said, as she stood beside her sister. They both took a deep breath, and then walked inside, immediately seeing Joyce standing by the stairs, "Hey Mom," Dawn said, with a smile, "What are you doing up, don't you have to work tomorrow?"

Buffy gave their mom a hug, "Hey. Uh, sorry we're late. You know Giles, all slay, all the time," when Joyce didn't say anything, Buffy felt herself become nervous. She looked over at Dawn, "Oh, and Dawn decided to follow, and I didn't want her to get killed trying to get back home, so I let her stay."

"Yeah, you know me," Dawn said, bobbing her head, "I'm all into the whole following Buffy to training thing…since she won't let me go," Buffy shot her a look, but she just shrugged it off.

Suddenly, they knew why their mom was so silent. They knew because Giles stepped from behind the wall, with his serious face on, "Hello, Buffy. Dawn," they had been caught.

Buffy started to panic inside, "Do you guys want to watch some television? I think there's a very insightful Nightline on."

Dawn looked at her sister, frowning, and then just figured she'd go along. They didn't have any better plans, "Oh yeah," she said, "isn't it on--like…the secret world of high school, or something like that?" she snapped her fingers, "Teen rebellion," she blurted, "That's what it's on tonight," once again, Buffy shot her a look, and she realized what she had just said, "sorry," she whispered.

"You lied to us," Joyce said, in a calm, but serious voice, "and you made us into your alibis. That's playing us against each other, and that's not fair. And you brought Dawn into it too? Buffy."

Giles stepped forward, "I called Willow, and only got her mum. Apparently, Willow told her that she was studying for the S.A.T. with you at some restaurant. I have a feeling that's not true, since you didn't just mention it."

Dawn looked over at Buffy, "That's a good sign…Willow not being home yet."

"Dawn," Buffy said, glaring at her sister. Then she looked back at the two adults, "Look, I'm sorry but I had to--" without finishing her sentence, she walked into the living room, Dawn following right behind her, along with her mom, and Giles.

"Were you at The Bronze? I can see Dawn following you there--"

"Hey," Dawn said, pouting.

Joyce continued, "…but once you saw her, you should have brought her home. What was happening there that was so important? "

Buffy shrugged, "Bronze things. Things of Bronze."

Dawn was the one to give a look this time, then she came up with a better excuse, "Oz's band was playing tonight."

"Don't you usually just ask to go, when his band is playing?" Joyce asked, seeing right through both of her daughters' lies. She looked more directly at her oldest daughter, "You're acting really immature, Buffy."

"I know," Giles began, as he sat on the arm of the couch, "I'm not your parent, but I am responsible for you. I think your mum's right."

"Okay, fine. I'm acting like a child. Maybe that's because you're both treating me like a child."

Dawn sighed, "Not really the time, Buffy."

"You're both scheduling me twenty-four hours a day. Between the two of you, that's forty-eight hours. I just want to be able to make a few decisions on my own," she figured, since they were the one's to bring up her maturity level, that she mind as well let all of her anger and frustration, on the topic, out. Both of them had, after all, been trying to keep taps on her every move. Lying was the only way she was able to have any time away from them.

"The last time you made a decision on your own," Joyce said, as she unwrapped one of the candy bars she had bought from Buffy, earlier, "you split."

"Yeah, and I took care of myself. I don't need this much active parenting," she looked over at Giles, "from either of you. Why are we only focusing on me here, what about Dawn, and her sneaking around thing?" she asked.

"I'm the good one," Dawn said, "I only follow your lead."

"Whatever," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.

Joyce was still focusing on what her daughter had said before, about her taking care of herself, "You can't be trying to use this summer as a reason you should be trusted," she said, in a baffled tone.

"You can't baby-sit me all the time," the slayer said, "I need you to back off a little."

"Yeah," Dawn said, "I'm with her."

"All right," Giles said, looking at the floor, "come on. Let's not…freak out."

Buffy frowned, "Freak out?"

They all turned away from each other, when they heard the door open, and waited for Kennedy to walk in, "Hey," she said, frowning, "What's going on? Why's everyone--this isn't about me is it?" she asked, "I thought after the homecoming thing, I wouldn't have people waiting for me anymore," when she noticed, that no one knew what she was talking about, she got even more nervous, "You know, the whole everyone waiting to see me in the outfit thing?"

"Huh," Dawn said, remembering.

"Okay," Kennedy, walked into the living room, and sat on the couch, "what's going on?"

"They're a little mad that we just got home," answered Dawn.

"Oh," Kennedy said, simply. What she wanted to do was ask Dawn how things went with Buffy, but she knew it wasn't the time, "Shit, I'm sorry about that," she said, looking to Joyce, and ignoring the fact that she had just cursed, "I needed them to run an errand for me, for--because I had a date. They went to--" she looked over at Buffy, "make sure that Oz was at his gig, and then went to get some flowers delivered for me. I'm sure they didn't tell you," she continued, after looking at Dawn, "because they didn't want you to have to lie to Willow's mom, just incase she called, since Buffy was her alibi. I know I really shouldn't suck them into my life like that, especially Dawn, but I needed the help, so…"

"Right," Joyce said, as she stared at Kennedy, also seeing through her lie.

"I think you should all just go to bed," Giles said, as he stood up. Joyce gave him a piece of a candy bar, "…thank you…we're all very tired."

For a moment, none of the girls moved, but once they realized that they were really being told to go to bed, all of them headed upstairs, leaving Giles and Joyce alone. They both sighed and sat on the couch, grabbing a candy bar as they did.

"Oh, she drives me crazy. I just want to protect them," said Joyce.

"Don't all parents want that?" Giles asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, but at least most parents have some idea what to protect their children from. With Buffy being a slayer, I don't really know what to do. I guess that's your area."

"Yeah. And I think we should both be especially careful, because she's a slayer. Dawn's obviously going to look up to her, and Kennedy…well, there's nothing we can do, she's not our responsibility."

Joyce put another piece of the candy in her mouth, "Mmm."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

"Dude, think fast," a boy at the front of the class announced, as he threw a paper-wad, across the room.

It was another day at Sunnydale High, but things weren't quite the same. There was a class with no teacher there to teach, which was a very strange, because Snyder usually made sure that no class was left alone without an adult to keep them in line, even if that meant that he himself had to sit with them until the sub came. This morning there was no teacher, no substitute, and no principal. It was just a bunch of hormonally driven teenagers. Buffy was of course in this class, along with Willow, and Xander, but she wasn't sitting next to either of them. No, today was the day that she got to sit next to her most favorite person in the world; Cordelia. Usually, Kennedy was the one to fill the seat next to her, but the girl hadn't come to class yet, so Cordelia took, and because they were sitting at lab stations Buffy could actually here the girl talk.

"I heard that there was this secret rule that if a teacher's more than ten minutes late, we can all leave," the brunette said, leaning in Buffy's direction.

Buffy, however, knew that even if the rule was an actual rule, it wasn't going to be the day it was enforced, "It's Giles' turn to watch study hall. He'll be here. He's allergic to late."

Cordelia tilted her head, as if to think, "He is wound a little tight. I had this philosophy book checked out from the library for, like, a year, and he made me pay the fine even though it was huge."

Buffy just rolled her eyes.

"I was sad to return it," she continued, "It was perfect for starting conversations with college boys. Of course that was B.X."

"B.X.?" the slayer asked, frowning. Cordelia looked behind them, where Willow and Xander were sitting, "Oh, before Xander. Clever."

While Buffy and Cordelia had been talking, the back table, where Willow and Xander sat next to one another, had been pretty quiet. Pretty quiet, as in silent. It wasn't that Xander didn't want to talk, in fact it was quite the opposite, but Willow didn't seem to be in the mood for talking. She wasn't her usual chipper self. There wasn't any excitement when he had walked into the room, or any tales of her night with Kennedy, or even any guilt-trip stories on how bad she felt for cheating on Oz.

"You okay?" he asked, finally bringing himself up to do it.

She looked over at him, blinking repeatedly, as if she were waking up from a dream, or in her case, a nightmare, "What? Oh, yeah I'm fine," she looked down for a moment, and then turned back to look at her friend, "I'm just…I'm worried, and angry at the same time."

"Why, what's going on?" he asked.

"Well, last night, you know, I told my mom that I was going to go study, so I could go on that date with Kennedy," she paused, "but she never came."

Buffy turned around suddenly, "Kennedy wasn't with you last night?" she asked.

"No," the redhead said, in a sad voice, "and now she's not here today, and I'm all worried that maybe she got hurt on the way to the restaurant. But if she didn't," she continued, "then I'm mad, because Giles called my house last night, so I was busted, and I'm grounded for the rest of my life…that's a long time to be grounded, when you've never been grounded. Have you seen her?"

Buffy hesitated, but then figured she should tell the truth, since Kennedy had said that she was just going to be late, "Yeah actually, I saw her last night, when she came home. I just figured you guys had had so much fun that you lost track of time, and that was why she was a little late. Obviously that's not what happened," she turned back around, now thinking of the fact that if Kennedy wasn't with Willow the night before, then she probably had been with Faith. That made her think of what Dawn had said about Faith getting to Kennedy first, which made her even more worried. Things were definitely back in motion.

Out in the hallway, Kennedy stood behind the classroom door, because Snyder was trying to get some lady to go and sub for the day.

"The pinhead librarian didn't show, and I don't want to do it," he said to the older lady, as he took a bite of one of one of the candy bars he was making the whole school sale, "You do it."

"All right, fine. I'll do it," she said, with an attitude, then she walked into the class.

Snyder stood there for a moment, and then started to turn, and walk away, "Everybody expects me to do everything around here because I'm the principal…it's not fair."

Once the man was around the corner, Kennedy stepped from behind the door, with a frown on her face, "That was weird," she thought. Then she looked inside the classroom, her eyes immediately landing on Willow, and took a deep breath before she walked in. She walked directly past the old woman, who was still putting her stuff down on the front desk, and went to the table where her girlfriend sat, hoping that after they talked she'd still be able to call the girl that, even if it was only in private. Xander looked at her for a moment, an angry look in his eyes, and then moved so she could sit down. This also gave her the opportunity to see the look Buffy had on her face; one that she'd have to worry about later. She sat down, and looked over at Willow, who was looking in the opposite direction.

"Hey, beautiful," she said, hoping that would get the girl to look at her, but it didn't work, "Look Willow," she said with a sigh, "I can explain--" before she could continue her sentence, she spotted someone across outside the window, a little ways away, someone she recognized instantly. It was Faith, "Crap," she mumbled.

"That's right," Willow said, turning to Kennedy, "you should feel like crap. I can't believe you stood me up, and then left me there to get home by myself. Then, to top the night off, my mom found out that I lied and I'm grounded for the rest of my life."

"Parents never mean that," Kennedy said, trying to lighten the mood, not only for Willow, but for herself.

Willow, however, wasn't going for it, "Buffy said you came home kind of late last night, Kenn. Where were you?"

"I…"

"Hey!" the old lady yelled, at the front of the room, "We're all stuck here, OK? So now let's just sit quietly and pretend we're reading something until we're really sure that old Commandant Snyder's gone. Then we're all out of here," she said, angrily.

"Does anyone else want to marry Ms. Barton?" asked Xander.

"Get in line," Cordelia said, still staring at the woman blankly.

"I guess Giles isn't coming," Willow said, letting herself be distracted for a moment.

"I guess not," Buffy said, wondering where her watcher was. Then she turned to look at Kennedy, "So, I'm guessing you were right then," she said, staring at the girl, who wouldn't look her in the eyes, "She's here, isn't she?"

Kennedy look out the window, only to see that Faith was gone, and then looked at Buffy, "No, Faith's not here," she cleared her throat, "I was just paranoid, that's it. Which is why I never made it to the restaurant last night," she said turning to Willow, "I was freaking out."

"About what?" Willow asked, confused, "Faith's back? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing," Kennedy said quickly, too quickly, but she was the only one who seemed to notice, "I just thought that Faith had been following me around the last couple of days, and it freaked me out, because of the way I thought she was doing it. I didn't want to tell you until I knew if she was following me or not, and when I got to the restaurant, I thought she was, so I didn't go in. I walked around Sunnydale for a while to try and catch her, and lost track of time, which I feel really bad about, because she wasn't even there. I was just worried."

Willow looked into Kennedy's eyes, searching deep within them to see whether the girl was telling the truth or not, but she couldn't see anything. Nothing telling whether she was telling the truth, or lying. It was like she was staring into a blank canvas, a space full of nothingness, so she settled it within herself. She pulled the girl into a hug, "Be glad that I like you," she said, pulling back with a slight smile, "or I wouldn't let you off the hook so easy. Don't think that means you won't have to make it up, missy."

"Don't worry," Kennedy said, with a smile, "there will be lots of sucking up, and special morning mocha's to make it up to you. I promise."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Buffy walked up to Giles' door, her heart beating hard in her chest. Part of her didn't want to walk in, knowing that him missing school could only mean something bad, but she also knew that it was her responsibility to walk inside. She was after all, the slayer, or at least the slayer that was in town, and he was her watcher, so she had to do it. First, she put her hands against the door, then her head, to see if she heard anything, then she opened the door and walked in.

"Buffy," Giles said, knelt down looking at his records.

She walked over behind the couch, closing the door behind her, "Uh…sorry. I was just worried. You were a big not-there in study hall," she crossed her arms, "and after you lecture to me on not ducking out," suddenly, she noticed that her mother was sitting on the couch. She unfolded her arms, and frowned, "And what is my mother doing here?"

Giles stood up, and went to stand next to his coffee table, "We had an opportunity for a, you might say…summit meeting. It took priority over study hall," he paused, and then added, "I called in."

"Oh," Buffy said, still confused.

Joyce nodded, "We decided that you made a good point earlier."

"I did. Yeah," Buffy said, trying to keep her voice sounding cofident, "Which was…?" for some reason, their strangeness, was making her feel strange, like there was something wrong with her, when it was them that weren't acting like themselves.

"About us oversceduling you," Giles said, as he sat on the table, "Pulling you into directions--Your home life and your duties as a slayer."

"Oh. That was a good point," Buffy said, looking away from them for a moment, still trying to come to grips with the fact that the two adults in her life, were telling her that she had been right about something, that she had been saying for days.

"we're working out a coordinated schedule for you," Joyce said, with a smile.

"It'll be tight, but we think we can fit in all your responsibilities," Giles added.

Buffy laughed nervously, "Sounds nice and structured."

"We've got more work to do here, honey. Why don't you give us a little more time? Um," she moved to the edge of the couch, digging in her purse as she did, and then stood up, with the keys in her hand, "take the care, and Mr. Giles can drive me home," she said, holding the keys out towards here daughter.

"What?" Buffy asked, think that she had heard wrong. She shook her head, "Excuse me, I mean what?!"

"Key. Take them," Joyce said, simplify her words, as if talking to a child.

Buffy smiled, "You don't have to tell me twice. Actually, you did, but…" she grabbed the keys, and headed out the door, not giving the woman a chance to change her mind, "bye!"

"Bye, honey. Drive careful, and go pick up your sister, while you're out."

As Buffy ran out the door, the only thing she could say was, "Uh-huh!" and then she was gone.

Joyce stood there for a moment, and then sighed in relief, "Do you think she noticed anything?" she said turning to Giles.

Giles, who was standing by his chimney, facing the wall, turned with a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it, "No way."

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Dawn sat on the curb outside of her school, waiting for her mother to pick her up. School had been over for hours, and at first she started to worry, but then figured that it probably had to do with Buffy, and shrugged it off. She had wanted some time to think anyways. With all the things that were going on, it was rare that she had a long enough moment to herself to figure out everything, like she used to when she was always alone, or with her mother, but now she had the perfect opportunity. The subject on her mind, as it had been for a while, was all things Kennedy. What she thought Kennedy was doing, thinking, and hoping for. At the moment, she figured the girl was probably working on her car, which she had been cursing about all morning before everyone, except her, headed out. Then, moving right along, she figured that Kennedy was thinking about, either, Faith or Willow. Those were the two people that were always on her mind, a long with some random appearances by Rachel. Those thought were ones of guilt though, so she didn't wander on them long. Last, but not least, there were Kennedy's hopes. That was also easy, and having to do with the two people on her mind, a long with the appearance of someone else; Buffy. The hopes were: that her relationship with Willow was the real thing, and that Faith and Buffy worked things out. Whether it meant them getting together or not. If the two slayers weren't fighting, then there was less tension within the whole gang, and so them getting along was very important. Not to mention the fact that they were easy targets for jokes to make the gang laugh. Yes, that is what Dawn thought about when she was alone, especially lately. If she had enough time, she'd wander over to Buffy, but, as usual, she had no time to do that. She saw her mom's Jeep Cherokee coming down the street.

Something was different today, about the woman's driving. For some reason, it seemed like she was having trouble staying within the lines; the car jerking after every couple feet, but it wasn't long before she knew why the car was moving so strangely. The car stopped right next to her, almost running over her feet, and after she stood up, the door flew open.

"Buffy?" she said, looking at her sister strangely, "What are you…? Are we running away?" she asked, as she got into the car, "Is Mom that mad? Because if she is, we should run by the house, and get some clothes first. Unless you already thought of that, and put the clothes in the back, before you took off with her car."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "We are not running away. Now," she said, as she put her hands back on the wheel, "close your door, and put your seatbelt on," when she looked over at her sister, with a smile on her face, and saw that the girl was starting to get out of the car, she grabbed her by her shirt, and pulled her back in, "Dawnie!"

"I'm sorry," Dawn said, as she was forced back into her seat. She close her door, put her seatbelt on, and pulled on it until it locked, "I'm just not sure I wouldn't rather walk home. It's not that far."

"No," the slayer said, firmly, "Mom told me to pick you, and here I am."

"Are you sure it was Mom?" Dawn asked.

Buffy laughed, and then frowned, "I'm pretty sure. I didn't stay to make sure," she shrugged, "Oh well. What matters is that she gave me the car for the day--and you, and that's all that matters. Okay," she checked her mirrors, "I forgot to adjust them earlier," she admitted, as she moved them around, "That made driving a little difficult, but I mad it," once she could see, out of all the mirrors, she started to pull away from the school, "We're going to go get Willow, and then go to the Bronze, 'cause she told Oz that we'd come to his--" she spotted a car out of the corner of her eye, and stopped suddenly, barely missing it, "Oops," she said turning to her sister, "do you think cars are kin to vampires? 'Cause none of them show up on the mirrors."

Dawn covered her eyes, "That's because you've put them where you can't see anything," she mumbled.

BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR

Kennedy laid beneath her car, covered in oils, greases, and her own sweat, cursing at the fact that she couldn't get the damn thing to start leaking. She had been working for hours, trying hard not to have to take to a shop, where they'd overcharge her for something she could fix herself. Usually, it wouldn't take her so long to fix anything, but she couldn't concentrate on what she was doing, so it was taking a little longer then she liked. Her head was full of thoughts concerning her sister. She was beyond worried about her, despite the fact that they had talked, because the strange stalking had not stopped. This was more scary than anything, because if that was how her sister was acting, when nothing was severely wrong, then she didn't want to imagine what would happen if her sister's life did get even worse. The only solution, that she could think of, other than what her sister had suggested, which she didn't like to think about, was Faith and Buffy resolving things. It was, after all, what drove the brunette slayer over the edge. Yeah, she had always been a little crazy, but it had never been as bad as it was turning. There had never been any stocking from a distance.

"Hey Junior."

Kennedy jumped, hitting her head on the bottom of her car, "Shit!" she slid from beneath it, rubbing her head as she did, "What the fuck, Faith?"

"Why the hell are you so jumpy?" Faith asked, "It's not like Dawn doesn't approach you like that all the time. Hell, she even stares at you from her window," she smiled, "She's always had the hots for ya."

"She's a kid," Kennedy stood up, wiping her hands on her, already stained, blue jeans, "What's up, what's so important that you'd risk Buffy seeing you?"

"You know what's up," Faith said, staring at her sister, who was walking around picking up tools off the ground, "So, have you decided?" she asked, holding her breath.

Kennedy froze, not wanting to turn and look at her sister, knowing that if she did Faith would see something in her eyes, that she wouldn't want to see. So, she didn't turn around, "When?" she asked, as she continued to pick her tools up.

Faith smiled, "Tonight," she said, with a sigh of relief.

"Fine," Kennedy said, after a moment, "I'll have the car fixed, and all my clothes packed. But first," she said, finally turning to Faith, "we have to stop by The Bronze, I to see her one last time."

At first, Faith wanted to start arguing against it, but when she saw the sadness in her sisters eyes, she couldn't do it, "Will Buffy be there?"

After picking up her last screw driver, Kennedy looked her sister directly in the eyes, and said, "No."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, that's the chapter, and I hoped you liked it. Of course, that's not the end of the episode, but I thought it best to leave it there…and make a part 3. Next time, the grown ups start to go crazy--er, Dawn gets a taste of the life of a slayer, Oz grows suspicious of Willow and Kennedy when he catches them in a compromising position, Faith officially comes back to Sunny-D, and Willow's heart is broken by the one she loves most. Will it be mended? Will the gang be restored, or will it start to spiral apart even more? You'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom P.S. sorry for any typo's.


	10. Sex, Chocolate, and Rebels Pt 3

Hey guys, I'm really sorry for not updating this story, and only updating my other one…'cause I'm sure you noticed. I'm obviously not done with it, 'cause there are sixteen episodes left in the season, plus my in between ones, and because you're reading this, which means that I'm still going. See the thing is, I've been on the same episode for like a month and a half, and I'm sick of it. This episode is really hard to work with because it was mostly just another funny one, with some mayor stuff, and without Faith…or Kennedy…or Dawn, so I'm having to work a lot in to an episode that isn't meant to be serious, and it's becoming serious (sigh). Anyways, I promise I will update the way I used to, now that I'm done with this episode. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. for the those of you who don't remember…Devon is the lead singer of Oz's band…'Dingoes Ate My Baby'. Also, hope you guys don't get confused by the way I did the phone conversation, in the episode, if you do, I'm sorry.

Chapter Seven: Sex, Chocolate, and Rebels Pt. 3 (and final)

Willow gripped the sides of the seat, "Tell me again, how it happened," she said, glancing at the blonde behind the wheel. They had been driving around for a while, because Buffy kept missing all of the turns to get to The Bronze, which wasn't far from Willow's house, "Slower this time."

"She can't multitask," Dawn said, sitting in the backseat.

Buffy turned the car suddenly, proud to finally turn at the right time, "Yes," she said, excitedly, "Anyways, I told Mom I wanted to be treated more like a grown -up and voila--driviness."

"Are you sure it was Joyce?"

"She didn't wait to find out," Dawn moved over to the middle, so she could see where they were going, and buckled the middle belt as fast as she could, "Which is stupid, considering the fact that it wouldn't be the first time people were possessed in Sunny-D. Hello, does anyone remember Xander…or the dead principal?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "It was Mom, okay? It was because of what I had said, she told me. Also, I think she wanted me other where. Considering her and Giles are planning my future, I think it's easier for them to live my life if I'm not actually there."

Willow looked down for a moment, noticing something the slayer had obviously missed, "Do you know that you have the parking brake on?"

Buffy reached over and pushed it down, avoiding looking over at her friend as she did, "Uh-huh."

"Are--Are you sure about The Bronze? I mean, the S.A.T. s are tomorrow. You could just drop me," she heard Dawn clear her throat, "and Dawn off. Oz will give us a ride home, in his van, that he knows how to drive…very well."

"I can study at The Bronze. A little dancing, a little cross-multiplying. You know what we need?" she reached over towards the radio, first just trying to feel for the buttons, but eventually, after being able to find the right one, she just looked down at it, and started to flip through.

Willow squealed, "Eyes on the road! Eyes on the road!"

"Buffy!"

"There we go," Buffy sat up, performed another sharp turn, and smiled, "Oops, almost missed the turn."

Back at Giles', Joyce was flipping through the man's records, as she swayed to the classic rock they had decided to listen to, while Giles was just laying on the floor, smoking a cigarette, and relaxing.

"You got some good albums," she said, while chomping on a piece of gum.

He shrugged, "Yeah, they're okay," he said, nonchalantly.

She looked over at him, "Do you like Seals and Croft?" he sat up and looked at her strangely, "You me neither," she said, coolly. He laid back down, and reached back, handing her his cigarette, "Thanks," she took a puff, "So how come they call you Ripper?"

He sat up, and took his cigarette back, "Wouldn't you like to know. Hmm," he took it out, "wait a minute. Listen to this bit," the song went into a guitar solo, and he mimicked it with his air guitar, until it was over, "It rocks," he said, as he stood up.

"It's good," Joyce said, not really caring about the solo.

Giles went over to his mirror, and messed up his air, while holding the cigarette between his lips, "I got to get a band together."

"Hey, Ripper, you want to watch TV? I know how to work pay-per-view," she said, with a smile.

"No, let's go out and have some fun…tear things up a bit."

She got up, and walked over to him, "Okay. We could go to The Bronze."

"Not bloody likely, that place is dead."

Devon leaned over toward Oz, as he looked out at the people, "They're digging us, man."

Buffy, Willow, and Dawn walked into The Bronze only to wonder if they had come to the right place. Instead of seeing the usual, somewhat calm, group of teenagers they usually saw, they walked in to see a bunch of adults dancing, playing games, and drinking.

"Let's do the time warp again," Buffy said, linking arms with Willow, and moving closer to her.

Willow looked around, confused, "Maybe there's a reunion in town or a Billy Joel tour or something."

Dawn frowned, "Billy who?"

They all stopped as a woman tried to walk past them, but Buffy stopped her, "Ms. Barton?"

It was just who she thought it was; the woman who had been called in to sub for their class, when the teacher, and Giles didn't show up, "Buffy? Whoa."

"Did she just say 'whoa'?" Dawn asked, looking at the woman like she was insane, "This is scary."

"Are you okay, Ms. Barton?" Willow asked.

The woman shrugged, "I'm cool, Willow. Willow--that's a tree. Huh. You're a tree," she laughed, "Yeah, uh, are there any nachos in here, little tree?"

Buffy elbowed Dawn, who had started to laugh, "Are you sure you don't need some fresh air, Ms. Barton?"

The lady laughed, hysterically, "Okay," she said, and then she walked away.

Dawn laughed, "I don't think she understood the question."

Willow looked around, again, "Okay, this is not normal," Buffy, and Dawn looked at her with a frown, "But maybe that goes without saying."

"Hey, gang!"

Buffy's jaw dropped, "Oh my, God," she said, looking down at her principal.

He smiled, excitedly, "This place is fun city, huh?"

"Principal Snyder?"

"Call me Snyder. Just a last name, like…Barbarino," he jumped, an odd jump, "Ooh! I am so stoked! Ooh. Hey, did you see Ms. Barton?" he turned away from him, and scanned the crowd, "I think she's wasted. I'm gonna have to put that in her next performance review 'cause…I'm the principal," he said, with pride. Then he walked away.

"He's my future principal?" Dawn asked.

"I don't like this," Willow said, ignoring Dawn's question, "They could have heart attacks."

"Well…maybe there's a doctor here," Buffy said, looking around.

A chubby man, with no shirt on, and a tie around his neck, got onto the stage, "Whoo. Yeah!" he yelled, pushing Devon out of the way.

"I think that is my doctor," Willow said, horrified, "He--He's usually less…topless," the man jumped off the stage, hitting the ground, and she groaned.

Snyder cam back up to them, "I got a commendation for being principal," he said, grinning, "from the mayor," he stuck out his hand, "Shook my hand twice."

Buffy nodded, "That's nice," she said, slowly, as if he was a child.

A woman passed them, and Snyder followed her with his eyes, "Whoa! There are some foxy ladies here tonight!"

"What's happening?" Willow asked.

Buffy grabbed her and pulled her behind the balcony stairs, "I don't know…but it's happening to a lot of grown-ups."

"They're acting like a bunch--"

"They're acting like a bunch of us," Buffy said, finishing the girl's sentence.

Willow frowned, "I don't act like this."

Buffy rolled her eyes, and then noticed something. She looked around, "Where's Dawn?"

Dawn walked outside slowly, trying to see if she had seen who she thought she had seen, and found that she had. She hid behind a car quickly, seeing that they had turned in her direction for a moment, and then poked her head back around, as they started to argue.

"You said B wasn't gonna be here," Faith said, angrily, "Fucking liar."

Kennedy laughed, "You should've seen your face, when you saw her…priceless," she cleared her throat, "No, but seriously, are you really not going to talk to her? I mean I get that you're all confused and freaked out, it happens to the best of us, but seriously, if you just talk to her, I'm sure you'll feel better. Then we won't have to do the whole running thing again, I mean, it's getting old, don't ya think?"

Faith folded her arms, "I don't wanna talk to her."

"What are you five? Get your ass in there, and talk to her," Faith didn't budge, "Fine, you know what, do whatever you want, I ain't leaving. Got it? You wanna run like the fucking coward you are, then go. No one's fucking stopping ya."

"Whoa, what's up with all the fucking f-bombs you're suddenly dropping? Don't get mad at me. If anyone's gonna be mad, it's gonna be me. This set up you got here, it ain't cool. That's like me lockin you in a room with Red's boy, after telling him you're bangin his girl."

"First," Kennedy said, lifting her hand, "There's no bangin. Second, she's not his girl…she's mine. Third," she paused, "you wouldn't.'

"Seriously?" Faith laughed, "You do remember who I am, right? I don't give a shit if you and Red get caught in your lies. You know what? I will tell him. Right here, and right fuckin' now."

Dawn tried to stop herself from laughing, as Faith stomped towards The Bronze, knowing exactly what Kennedy was doing. Mostly, she had gone outside, after seeing Faith walk in, to see if the girl had gone psychotic, thinking that something bad was about to happen if she was, but from what she could see, everything was back to normal. Kennedy and Faith were being the sisters she remembered, back when they had first come to Sunnydale. The one's that had fought over a bag of potato chips for an hour, literally fighting over them. There was only one problem, and she was sure that Kennedy had thought about it too, if Faith started to act crazy, just after a blow to the heart, though it was a hard one, she would admit, what would happen if something really bad ever were to happen to the girl again? She was taken out of her thoughts when she saw that Faith was heading back over to Kennedy.

"Wait a minute, you're trying to trick me again, aren't you?"

Kennedy laughed, "And you almost fell for. You never the brightest of the bunch."

"You ass," she looked over at the building's door, and then back at her sister, "Look, I ain't goin' in there, and there's no way of convincing me to, alright? Now, I'm not saying that I'm still leaving, 'cause I'm not sure, but one thing I know for a fact is that you're gonna go in there, and be with Red…make up for the date you skipped out on. Even if her boys gonna be there. You can just steal her away…get laid, you know?"

"Get out of here," Kennedy said, as she pushed her sister, both of them laughing, "Wait, not like out of town though. Think about sticking around for a while, it'll do you some good," she put her finger to her temple, "Up here, you know?"

"Whatever," Faith said, as she walked away.

Once Faith was around the corner, Kennedy headed into the Bronze, "Come on, Dawnie," she said, as she passed a car.

Dawn stood up, pouting, "You knew the whole time?"

"Yep."

Buffy, Willow, and Oz were standing next to the pull table, when Buffy spotted Kennedy and Dawn coming in, "I should've known," she mumbled. Then she turned to her friends, "I spotted her."

"Oh," Willow turned to Buffy, and then looked past her to see that Dawn and Kennedy were heading in their direction, "Good," she said, gulping. It was always hard for her to be calm when both Kennedy, and Oz, were in the room, because she had to keep some distance between her and the other girl.

"Hey guys," Dawn said, with a smile, "Look who I found."

"Hey," Kennedy said, simply. She looked at Willow, who was trying not to look at her, and then to Oz, who was staring at her, in an odd way, "So what's going on with the senior citizens being here?"

"Not sure," Oz answered.

They all turned away to look at all of the adults, "Something's definitely changing them," Buffy said, spotting Snyder dancing in the crowd. Shivers went up her spine, "Something of the bad."

"A spell?" Willow suggested.

"They're teenagers," Oz said, also spotting Snyder, "It's a sobering mirror to look into, huh?"

Kennedy shrugged, "I don't act like this."

Willow looked at Kennedy, "That's what I said."

Snyder went up to Oz, staring at his hair, "You've got great hair," he looked at it for a bit longer, and then walked away. Leaving Oz there, wondering about his hair.

A groups of men, also topless, got on stage and began to sing, "Louie Louie."

"It just gets more upsetting," Willow said.

Buffy groaned, as she spotted two adults making out on the dance floor, "No Vampire has ever been that scary."

Kennedy nodded, "I agree."

All of a sudden there were sounds of things breaking, all while the men were still singing Louie Louie, and Snyder ran by, "Fight!Fight!"

"That's it," Buffy said, heading towards the door, knowing everyone would follow, "we've got to figure out what's going on. This has hellmouth fingerprints all over it," she stopped, seeing a man and a woman, playing pinball, feeding each other some of the band candy the school was selling, and then walked out the door.

"Hey," Snyder said, as he ran to catch them, "where are we going?" he asked, when he got outside, "Wait up you guys! Hey! You guys aren't trying to ditch me, are you?"

"We should find Giles," Oz said, completely ignoring Snyder, "He'll know what's going on, right?" he asked, as they all started to get into Joyce's Cherokee.

"Sure, Except for all we know, he's sweet sixteen again," she looked over at her sister, "Dawn, get in the front."

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"'Cause I said so," Buffy said, giving her sister a look.

"Fine," Dawn said, putting her hands in the air.

Oz, Willow, and Kennedy got in the car, with Willow in the middle of them.

"He's with your mom at his place," Willow said, as she buckled her seat belt.

Snyder went up to the car, "I said wait up," he said, getting in the back next to Oz, making all of them scoot over.

Oz looked over at the man, "Uh, Snyder--"

"No time," Buffy said, as she started the car, "He's coming with us,' she took off, making the tires squeal.

Snyder laughed, "Whoa, Summers! You drive like a spaz."

As the car swerved, Willow reached out to grab something, and when she looked to see what she had grabbed, of course it was Kennedy's hand. She looked over at Kennedy, who was looking at her like she was crazy, and let go quickly. Then she looked away, "It'll be okay when we get to Giles'."

"Of course," Oz said, trying to scoot away from Snyder, "I mean, even if he's sixteen, he's still Giles right? He's probably a pretty together guy."

Willow made a face, "Yeah. W-Well--"

Oz looked over at her, "What?"

Dawn looked back at him, "We're not going to find a 'pretty together guy'."

"Dawn, sit back," Buffy said, looking over at her sister. The car swerved, and she looked back at the road, "What my sister is saying is, Giles at sixteen is less 'together guy' more 'bad magic, hates the world, ticking time bomb guy'."

"Did your explanation sound better in you head?" Dawn asked, sarcastically.

"Well, then," Oz said, seriously, "I guess your mom's in a lot of trouble."

"What the hell?" Faith said, angrily, when someone bumped into her. She turned them around to see that their face, only to see an older guy, and let him go, "Oh, sorry about that," she said, as the ran past her. She shrugged, "No problem, it was my fault," she said, in a mocking tone. She continued to walk, noticing that there were a lot of older folks walking around Sunnydale, "Something ain't right."

Faith stopped walking, hearing the sound of glass breaking, and looked over towards a store, finding a familiar face, "Joyce?" she started to go over to the woman, who was across the street, but stopped when she saw a man jumping from inside the store with a coat in his hand, "No way," she said, smiling, "G-man?" she watched as the man helped Joyce put the coat on, "I always knew they were screwin'.'

Once again, she found herself about to approach them, seeing that a cop with a gun was heading their way, but she stopped when she saw Giles beat the guys ass, and take his gun, "What the hell is going on?" she asked herself, aloud. Then the two adults started to make out, "Huh," the man pushed Joyce back, on the hood of the unconscious cops car, "G-man's got skills like that? It's so wrong. Definitely too wrong to make other people that are just passing watch," she frowned, "Why am I talking to myself? Why am I still standing here?"

"This is great!" Snyder said, excitedly, as they sat at a red light, "Let's doughnuts in the football field, huh?"

As Buffy started to go, all of them ignoring Snyder, Willow looked over at Kennedy, and spotted a car speeding in their direction, "Oh, my God, look out!" she screamed.

Kennedy looked towards the window, as she Felt someone pulling her away from the door. The car hit exactly where she was sitting, sending a jolt through her body, as she closed her eyes. Luckily, the accident wasn't bad at all, so she wasn't hurt. When she opened her eyes, she found that her head was buried in the crest of Willow's neck, and one of the girl's hands was tangled in her hair, while the other was on her side, pulling her closer. She looked down to see that her hand was on Willow's side, and her legs somewhat on the girl's legs, then she looked up, meeting Oz's eyes.

She pulled away from Willow, and laughed nervously ,"Wow, uh, I was scared there for a minute," she looked at Willow, who looked confused, "Thanks Will."

"What?" Kennedy looked at her, doing a little nod for her to turn around, and she remembered that Oz was in the car with them, "Oh, oh, oh, uh…no problem. Yeah…"

"Is everyone okay?" Buffy asked, turning to look at Dawn, and then the backseat, "Anyone broken?"

Oz shook his head, "We're all good," he looked at Willow, "No one's broken."

Buffy opened her car door, "Good," when she got out, the guy, mumbled an apology, and took off, "Yeah, thanks," she said, annoyed, "Grown-ups."

Willow got out, after Kennedy, and felt odd, "Is anybody else all creeped out and trembly?"

Snyder went over to the other side, where Buffy, and everyone else were, "Oh, Buffy," he said, spotting where the car was hit, "your mom's gonna kill you."

"Shut it," Kennedy said, glaring at the old man. She looked around, noticing that a lot of the elderly residents of Sunnydale, were out just hanging around. A group of old guys were sitting on the hood of there car, in some 50s stile leather jackets, sending catcalls to some women in some 50s stile dress, "Wait a minute--"

"Something's weird," Buffy said, as she too looked around.

"Something's not?" Oz asked, since Buffy had stated the obvious.

"No grown-ups," the slayer continued, "No one's protecting their houses. Everyone's just…wandering."

Snyder pulled out a chocolate bar, and started to unwrap it, but a man ran by and took it from him, "Hey! Give it!" he yelled, as he ran after the man, "He stole my candy!"

"Defenseless," Willow, and Kennedy, said at the exact same time.

Buffy frowned, "So where are all the vampires? Soup's on but no one's grabbing a spoon."

"Where do you get your analogies from?" Dawn asked.

"Something's happening," Oz said, as he looked at all the adults, "someplace that's else."

"I'd say something big," Buffy added.

Snyder ran back over to the group, "That guy took my candy."

"It's the candy," said Kennedy.

"It's got to be the candy!" Buffy blurted.

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Kennedy just said that."

The slayer ignored her sister, "It's cursed."

Snyder gasped, "A curse. I've got a curse."

"Geez, it's not like a cold Snyder," Kennedy said, annoyed. "I've got a curse," she said, mockingly.

"Oh, my God," Willow said, concerned, "using candy for evil."

"My parents ate a ton," Oz said, remembering that his parents bought the box he was supposed to sell.

"So did Buffy's," Kennedy said, thinking about the two adults eating while they were interrogating the night they caught Buffy and Dawn sneaking in late, "I mean, Joyce, and Giles, ate a ton," she corrected.

Buffy grabbed Snyder, and pushed him against the car, "Who's behind it?" she asked.

"I don't know. It came through the school board. If you knew that crowd--"

She pushed him again, "Where did it come from? Do you know where to get it?"

"Yeah," the man said, afraid.

"You guys get Xander and Cordelia. Go to the library and look it up," she commanded.

Oz frowned, "Candy curses?"

Willow sighed, "Disturbing second childhood. Got it."

"Ratboy and I are going to the source," Buffy said, as she pushed Snyder into the car, and got in, "Dawnie-"

"I'm coming with you," Dawn said, cutting her sister off, and getting in the car, "There's no time to argue with me. Let's go."

They got to the factory, where a lot of adults were passing candy that they had taken from inside the factory.

"Hurry," Buffy said, as she walked quickly. She stopped, when she got to a certain point, thinking that she had seen someone familiar, and turned around, "Mom? Giles?!" she said, when she saw the two of them making out.

"Ew," Dawn said, gagging.

Giles, while still kissing Joyce, waved them off, "Go away," he said, in between kisses, "We're busy."

Buffy grabbed her mom and pulled her away from the man, "Mom!"

"Hey!" Joyce said, angrily.

"This is the worse night ever," Dawn mumbled. She looked over at Giles, who was in some blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and had a flannel shirt tied around his waste, "Are you kidding me?"

"Shut it kid," the man said.

Buffy looked at her mom, "Where did you get that coat? Never mind. Listen--"

Giles went over and grabbed Buffy's arm, "Back off."

"Giles," Buffy said, looking the man in the eyes, "think about this. You want to fight me, or you want to let me talk to my mother?" he let go over her, putting his fingers through his hair, as he did. She turned back to Joyce, "Mom, look at me. Do you know who we are?"

"Of course. You're Buffy, and she's Dawn," she looked over at the people giving out candy, "Hey, look. They're giving away candy. You want some candy?"

"No, I don't, and you don't need any either."

"I'm fine," Joyce said, angrily, "I can have more if I want."

"Wow, Mom," Dawn said, rolling her eyes, "You're gonna pull the grown-up card, really?"

"You are not fine. You need to go home," Buffy said, trying to stay calm.

"Screw you. I want candy."

"Mom!" both girls said, at once.

"You want to slay stuff…and I'm not aloud to do anything about it. This is what I want to do, so get off my back."

"Mom, pleas--"

Giles went over and grabbed Joyce, pulling her towards the factory, "Oh, for God's sake. Just let your mum have the soddin' candy."

Buffy started to panic, "Mom, look at your car," she said, pointing over to it, "Look at that dent the size of New Brunswick. I did that."

"Again with the bad analogies."

Joyce looked at her car, "Oh, my God. What was I thinking when I bought the geek machine?"

Giles started to laugh, so Buffy turned to him, "Listen to me. You need--"

"No, you listen to me. I'm your watcher, so you do what I tell you. Now, sod off!" he said, with a cigarette dangly between his lips.

Buffy grabbed the cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it, "Take her home," she said, then she walked off, over through the crowd, to get inside the factory, "Dawn go with them."

Dawn huffed, "No way," she said, as she followed her sister.

"Joyce," Giles took the woman hand, and also followed.

After Buffy made it through the crowd, she had to fight a guy to get into the facter, but it didn't take ver long, a couple of kicks and punches, along with a duck or two, and she got passed him, without causing any permanent damage. She looked back to see Dawn right behind her, and pulled her up on the platform, which the door was on. Then she spotted her mom, and Giles, "Mom!" she said, as she pulled the woman up.

"Hey!" Joyce said, trying to get out of her daughter's grip.

"Oy! You leave her alone!" Giles yelled, as he followed the three of them into the factory.

Snyder saw them going inside, "Hey, Brit-face! Wait up."

When they were inside the main room, Buffy turned to her mom, and the others, telling them to stay, while she looked around.

"It smell so chocolaty," Snyder said, as he looked at all the high stacks of chocolate, lining the room.

"This is far out," Giles said, also amused.

Buffy spotted a man on the phone; one that looked oddly familiar, even from behind.

"Yeah, I been out there," he said, "Town's wide open. You guys can go anytime."

Buffy walked up behind him, "Ethan Rayne."

The man turned around, with the phone still in hand, "Might wanna hurry."

Giles walked over to them, seeing his 'old friend', "Ethan."

"Ripper," the man said, simply. Then he dropped the phone and took off running, Buffy, Giles, and Dawn, not far behind.

At the library, everyone was doing heavy research, trying to figure out what was going on. Oz, Xander, and Kennedy were going through the books on the shelves, picking out ones that Willow and Cordelia, who were sitting at the table, could pick through, and possibly find something.

"At first," Cordelia said, putting her elbows on the book she was supposed to be reading, "it was fun, you know? They seemed like they were in this really good mood--Not like parents. And then--"

"Badness," Willow said, as she turned a page.

"Mom started borrowing my clothes. Here should be an age limit on Lycra pants. And Dad, he just locked himself in the bathroom with old copies of esquire."

Willow turned another page, and then realized what Cordelia said, "Ew."

Cordelia nodded.

"I don't get this," Xander said, as he walked down the stairs, with two books, and over to the two girls at the table, "The candy's supposed to make you feel all immature and stuff but I've had a ton, and I don't feel any dif--Never mind."

"Good call to stop there," Kennedy said, as she took one of the books from his hand.

Willow looked at the girl, "I'll take that one," she said, feeling a little light headed since Kennedy was around. The girl held the book out to her, and when the reached for it, their hands touched. It was like a wave crashed through her, she was breathing differently, felt dizzy; she was melting. Then it went back to normal, because Kennedy pulled her hand away.

"You want to swap?" Cordelia asked.

Willow turned to Cordelia, thinking that she had been caught, and Cordelia was asking if she wanted to switch her relationship with Oz, to get into one with Kennedy. Truthfully, she didn't know what she was thinking, she just went into an instant panic, "What? Swap?"

Oz walked over to them, "With Cordelia," Willow just stared at him, "The book."

"This book is boring," Cordelia said, as she started to close it.

"Also, not in English," Oz added, after looking down at it.

Willow gulped, "Oh."

Buffy, Giles, and Dawn were running through the maze of high stack boxes, trying to catch Ethan. In the beginning, they had had a clear view of him, but when they turned a corner, or two, the man seemed to have vanished. Buffy slowed to a walk, figuring that she was going to have to use a different slayer strength to catch the man; her hearing.

"Where--Bloody hell!" Giles said, panting.

"That's what smoking will do to you," Buffy said, as she continued to walk, "Now, be quiet."

Giles leaned over for a minute, trying to catch his breath, "Well…where'd the bastard go?" he said, when he stood up straight.

Dawn shot him a look, "Shh!"

He shrugged, "What?"

"He's an idiot," Dawn said.

Buffy stopped walking, having heard something, and looked around, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. There was a wooden box next to her head, she did a round house kick, making a whole in it, and inside, she could see Ethan Rayne.

"Look," she said, as she pulled him forward, "a box of farm-fresh chiken."

"Do you even go to school?" Dawn asked, rolling her eyes, at her sisters fifth brilliant choice of words, of the night.

Elsewhere in the factory, Snyder, and Joyce were sitting on the metal assembly line, where the candy bars were but into boxes, both of them eating some of the candy.

"Do you suppose they're okay?" Joyce asked.

Snyder took another bite of chocolate, "Mm-hmm," he stopped to chew, and then continued, "So…are you two kinda…like, um…" he scooted closer to the woman, "going steady?"

Joyce frowned, rolled her eyes, got down, and walked away. Leaving the man to eat his candy alone.

"So, Ethan," Buffy said, since they were finished getting completely out of the box, "what are we playing? We're pretty much in a talk-or-bleed situation. Your call."

"Hit him," Giles said, excitedly.

"I--I'd just like to point out that this wasn't my idea," Ethan said, leaning against the boxes.

Buffy stepped towards him, "Meaning…?"

"I'm subcontracting. It's Trick you want," he said, with a shrug.

Dawn frowned, "Vampire guy, Trick? Wow, I'm sure that Fai--" Buffy suddenly turned to look at her, reminding her of the fact that Buffy wasn't aware of the fact that Faith was back, "I mean Kennedy, wouldn't be so happy to hear that. I mean--after the whole Kakistos thing."

"I'm just helping him collect tribute," Ethan said, getting the slayer's attention, "for a demon."

"He's lying," Giles blurted, "Hit him!"

Buffy turned to Giles, "I don't think he is…and shut up."

He got in her face, "You're my slayer. Go knock his teeth down his--"

"Giles!" she gave the man a look, and then turned back to Ethan, "What demon?"

"I don't remember," Ethan said, calmly. Buffy hit him in the nose suddenly, making his head fly back, "Ooh!"

"Yes!" Giles said, literally jumping for joy.

"Lurconis," Ethan said, holding his nose, "Demon named Lurconis. They wanted to get the tribute away from the people."

"So you're just Diversion-Guy?" Buffy asked.

"More than a diversion," he said, somewhat proudly, "They said the tribute was big…so big that people would never let them take it. People had to be out-of-it. And later on, when the candy wore off, they'd blame themselves."

"Hence, land of irresponsible. So where's Trick?"

"I don't know exactly."

"Hit him again. Go on," Giles said, once again excited.

Dawn shrugged, "It did work, the first time."

Buffy raised her fist, and he gave in.

"No! I-I-I really don't know. Delivering the tribute."

"Which brings us to the bonus question, and believe me when I say a wrong answer will cost you points," she turned to Dawn, a finger raised, "Don't say anything," she said, just as the girl opened her mouth. Then she turned back to Ethan, "What's the tribute?"

Willow answered the library phone, "Oh, hey Buffy."

"Hey Will, I need you to find a demon for me," the slayer said, twisting the phone cord, "It's named Lurconis."

"Lurconis?" Willow asked, trying to confirm.

"Right. Lurconis."

Willow looked over at everyone, and Kennedy nodded, letting her know that they had heard, so she turned away from the group, leaning on the check out counter, "Lurconis--a demon. What's his deal?"

"See if it says anything about a tribute," Buffy said, pacing.

"A tribute? Like what?" Willow asked.

Buffy looked over at Ethan, "I don't know. My source is all tapped out," she said, giving the man a look.

Snyder was crouched down in front of Ethan, who was sitting on top of something, he looked up at him, "She whupped you good huh?" he did two karate chops in the air, "Yah! Wah!" he said. Then he stood up, pulling at his pants, "I can do that. I took tae kwon do at the Y," he said, as he began to do kicks.

Willow frowned, hearing the whole thing, "Is that Snyder?"

"Yes," Buffy said, with a sigh.

Willow looked over her shoulder, everyone was still looking, so she turned back, "Are you sure it's a demon, 'cause--."

"No, no, no. It's a demon. A big one," she looked over at Giles, who was suddenly holding a gun to Ethan's head, "What happened?" she asked, handing the phone to Joyce.

Dawn was the one to answer, "Ethan was about to attack you with the crowbar that's on the table," she said, pointing to it.

"Giles," Buffy said, looking at the man, "give me the gun…now," after a moment, the man handed it to her, and she put it between her pants, and back.

At the library, Kennedy had found something, and brought the book over to Willow, "Here's something," she said, setting the book in front of the redhead.

Willow looked down, and skimmed over a couple of words, "Ms. Summers?" she said, hearing the woman's voice, "Uh…can you put Buffy back on the phone, please?"

Joyce covered the bottom of the phone, and held it out towards Buffy, "Uh…it's Willow. She wants you real bad."

Buffy frowned at her mom's choice of words, and took the phone, "Uh-huh?"

"Okay, Kennedy--and Oz," she added, after Kennedy said that he helped, "just found it. The tribute to Lurconis is made every thirty years. It's a ritual feeding. And this one's late, so it's probably, you know, a beg meal. oh, and…," Kennedy reached across her to point at a certain part of the book, and her eyes widened, "oh. Lurconis eats babies."

Buffy hung up the phone, and grabbed her mom, and Dawn's arm, "Come on," she said, trying to hurry them out.

Joyce looked at Ethan, "What about that man?"

Buffy froze, "Uh…see if you guys can find something to tie him up with," she said, to Giles, and Snyder.

"Um…" Joyce reached in her coat, back to the back of her pants, and pulled out some handcuffs.

Buffy gagged, "Never tell me."

"Or me," Dawn added, raising her hand.

By the time they all, minus Ethan, got to the hospital, it was too late; all of the babies were gone.

"Something's gonna eat those babies?" Joyce asked, sadly.

Giles walked into the room, after talking to a nurse, "She says she never saw who took them. Dozy cow."

"I know who took them," Buffy said, looking down at all the blankets.

"Then let's do something," Giles said, pointing towards the door, "Let's find the demon and kick the crap out of it."

"Is that what happens now?" Snyder asked, afraid.

"Yeah, if we knew where they were," she said, frustrated.

They all just stood there for a moment, each of them silent, and then someone walked into the room. Someone they hadn't expected to see.

Faith walked in, looking straight at Buffy, and only Buffy, "They're in the sewer."

Giles looked at Faith, and then looked down, something clicking in his mind, "Lurconis dwells beneath the city," he mumbled. He looked at Faith, "Whoa!"

Buffy was still staring at Faith, who was still staring at her. Her world was spinning, her heart pounding. It was like she was put into a trance. Full of not only joy, but also fear, and worry. Part of her wanted to run over to her, and start apologizing for what she had done, while the other part, wanted to run and hide. Unfortunately, there was no time for either, "Then let's go," she said, forcing herself to come back to reality.

Faith nodded, and then turned to walk out of the room. Everyone followed, except for Snyder.

"Uh, good," he said, folding his arms, "You go do that thing with the demon…and I'll stay here in case the babies, you know, uh…find their way back."

Buffy jumped down into the sewer, finding herself amongst a group of vampires in red, hooded, robes. The tunnel was barely lit, with a few scattered torches around the room. The babies, who were in one large carrier, that had wheels at the bottom, were in front of about three of the vampires, who were standing in front of a raised platform, that had water within it. On the other side of the platform, there was a tunnel, with multiple gas pipes stretching their way inside the large tunnel, on the ceiling.

She looked around as quick as possible, "Hi," she said, with a smile. A vampire rushed towards her, throwing a punch, which she ducked under, and growling. She kicked him, and then staked him, as another vampire approached her, from behind, who she staked without even turning around, "Mom, Giles, get the babies. Dawn, try not to get in the way."

"Gee, thanks," Dawn said, as she followed Giles and her mom.

Faith jumped down into the sewer, and looked over to Buffy, "What the hell are they doin' this for?" she asked.

"Demon," Buffy said, as she went after another vamp. She grabbed him, and threw him into the water on the platform. Then the room started to shake, and their was a loud rumbling.

"What the hell's that?" Giles asked, looking around.

Buffy looked over at the vampire, who was in the water, to see him standing up. Just as she thought to go stake him, a large, snake like, creature came from the tunnel nearest to the vampire, and swallowed him hole, "Lurconis, I'm thinking," Buffy said, a little shocked by the demons size. The demon went back into the tunnel, "Guess he's waiting for the next meal," as she turned to finish off one last vampire, she nearly bumped into the one she had really expected to fight, "Trick."

"Ordinarily, I like other people to do my fighting for me…but I just gotta see what you got."

Faith, who had been fighting a vampire, turned her head, quickly, hearing a familiar voice, "Trick," she said, angrily.

Dawn's eyebrows raised, "Uh oh."

Trick looked over at the dark haired slayer, "Well, I wasn't expecting to see you."

"To bad," Faith said, as she walked over to him, "cause I'm her…you're mine," just as she lifted her fist, suddenly someone appeared in front of her. She expected it to be Buffy, it seemed more typical, but instead it was Giles. He hit the vampire, who was barely affected by the blow, and was then thrown into the water. The rumbling started again, "Seriously, G-Man?"

Buffy looked up, and pulled down a pipe, "Faith, grab Giles," she said, as she held the pipe above her head. Just as Faith pulled the man out of the water, she aimed the pipe towards a torch, "please be gas," she mumbled. Suddenly a flame flowed from the pipe, and when she saw the demon poke its head out, she set it on fire. Sending it back into the tunnels to die, in agony.

"You and me girls," Trick said, now at the top of the ladder leading into the sewer, looking down at Buffy and Faith, "and your sidekick, there's hard trouble's ahead."

"I'm counting on it," Faith said, staring at the vampire, intensely. Then he disappeared.

Buffy looked at Faith, who was sort of walking off a bit, and turned to her mom, and sister, who were standing by the babies, "They just never leave," she said, shaking her head, "Always gotta say something."

"Sounds a lot like you," Dawn said, with a smile, "Maybe it's a slayer thing."

Joyce walked over to Buffy, "Can we go home now?"

"Yeah, we can go home. I've got the S.A.T. tomorrow," she said, sadly.

"Oh," Joyce said, waving her hand, "blow them off. I'll write you a note," she said, as she walked back over to the babies.

"No…it's okay," Buffy said, looking down. She looked up, remembering that she had wanted to talk to Faith, "Hey, Faith…" she looked around, "Faith?"

Dawn walked over to her sister, "She's gone."

The next day, school was just ending, and Oz, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia were all standing by the lockers, while Cordelia got her things. That's when Xander spotted Snyder walking by.

"Hey, Snyder. Heard you had some fun Friday night," he said, teasingly, "Have you come down yet?"

He pulled at his suit jacket, "That's Principal Snyder," he said, seriously.

"And that's a big 'yep'," Xander said, with a nod.

Principal Snyder looked at all of them, "You look like for young people with too much time on your hands."

"Not really," said Oz.

Cordelia closed her locker, and leaned against it, "Busy like a bee, actually," she put on a fake smile, "Bee-like."

He nodded, "Good. It seems we had some vandalism Friday on school property," he looked on the lockers, a little past the group, "and I was just looking for some…volunteers to help clean it up."

Willow looked at the spray painted lockers, "'Kiss Rocks'? Why would anyone want to kiss--Oh, wait," she said, noticing the look she was receiving, "I get it."

Principal Snyder walked between them, knowing they would follow, "Let's get you some paint remover."

Outside, Giles was walking Buffy out, and also listening to her on going speech.

"It was just too much to deal with. It was like nothing made sense anymore. The things that I thought I understood were gone. I just felt…so alone," she said, pouting.

"Was that the math or the verbal?" he asked, looking over at her, "Or when Faith left without talking to you last night, which now tells me that you know more about why she left?" he added.

She thought for a moment, "Mostly the math, but now that you mention it, the Faith thing too."

"Well, in terms of the S.A.T.s, if you scored low, then you can always take them again."

"More S.A.T.s?" she groaned, " Is there really a point? I could die before I even apply to college."

"Then you very possibly might not," he said, looking at the big picture.

"Well, let's just hope alive," she looked at him, "Any suggestions on the whole Faith thing?"

He started to answer, but then saw that Joyce was out of her car, waiting for Buffy, "Hello," he said, avoiding eye contact.

"Hi," Joyce said, doing the same.

Giles looked at the woman's car, "I say, you car seems to have had an adventure, doesn't it?" he asked, with a nervous laugh.

"Uh, Buffy assures me that it happened battling evil," she said, turning to look at the large dent, on the back door, "so I'm letting her pay for it on the installment plan," she said, turning back.

Buffy laughed, "Uh, hey, the way things were going, be glad that's the worst that happened. At least I got to the tow of you before you actually did something," she said, walking over to the passenger side.

"Right," Joyce said, still standing in the same spot.

"Indeed," Giles said, looking at the ground. Then he cleared his throat, "Yes," he said, walking away.

Buffy opened her door, frowning at the two grown-ups, "You guys--"

"Yeah right, those two were getting it on a car last night," Faith said, looking down at Buffy. The girl turned to her, "Hey," she said, with a smile.

Buffy smiled, "Hey."

"So," Faith looked inside the car, at Joyce, who had finally gotten in, "Is it okay if I steal B for a moment?" she asked.

Joyce, who had heard what Faith said, was still a little thrown off, but didn't want her daughter to catch what the girl had said, seeing that she hadn't, so she nodded, and said it was fine.

"Good," Faith said, as she looked back at Buffy, "Mind if we talk?"

Buffy shook her head, "Not at all."

Willow glided her towel against the locker, trying remove the very large phrase, when she suddenly had the urge to look around, feeling that Kennedy was around. First she looked to her left, only to see that Oz was smiling at her, which made her feel a little guilty, so she smiled back at him. Then, she subtly turned to the right, only to see a large group of teenagers, also with towels.

"You looking for someone?" Oz asked, as he dipped his scrubber again, "Or specifically, Kennedy?"

"Uh," she continued to run the brush across the locker, "No, I was just…looking."

Oz stopped wiping, and looked turned to Willow completely, "Look, we obviously need to talk about the whole car incident, 'cause you've been acting kind of weird ever since."

"Have I?" she asked, not turning to look at him.

"Yeah, you have, and I don't understand why," she finally turned to look at him, "I know that you care about her Willow, she's your friend. I would've done the same thing, if I thought my friend was about to get hurt. Though, pulling Devon against me like that might be a little strange…because he's strange."

She laughed, "Right."

"Everything's fine, okay?" he said, with a smile. Then he started to wipe the lockers again.

"Okay," she said, with a smile, her heart full of guilt. She leaned over to put some more remover on her towel, and spotted Kennedy, immediately feeling a warm sensation crawling up her body. She started to call out, to get the girl to come help, just so she could spend some time with her, even if it did mean sharing her, but then stopped. Kennedy was talking to some girl, one that Willow didn't recognize, or at least that's how it started. Then what seemed like a simple conversation, became something complicated. She noticed that Kennedy was starting to lean towards the girl, "Maybe she's just going to whisper something," she thought, but she was wrong. Kennedy didn't whisper anything, she didn't say anything at all, she leaned in, and kissed the girl. Breaking Willow's heart as she did.

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Alright, there's the rest of it. I know it wasn't much, but I had to go back and watch the 'original' scenes, for some dialogue notes, and those scenes alone took an hour to watch…they're were only a total of about fifteen when they weren't paused every few seconds. Anyways, that's it, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter, Faith and Buffy talk, Willow wants to know if Kennedy loves her, and someone returns to Sunnydale. Wanna guess who? 'Till next time…thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom


	11. Starving for Madness

Well, this is my first 'in between' that I've done in a while, and of course I did some research on the episode that's supposed to be next first, so let me just say…wow. There is so many things I will have to change in my version of 'Revelations', it's unbelievable; basically the whole thing….wish me luck? Anyways, um you might be a bit angry after this chapter, because I'm up to no good. I'm about to kick you guys around a bit, and…I hope you enjoy it. This is going to be a lovely, special chapter, that will kick off the long downward spiral that happened in the actual season, so I'm very excited to present you with this. I hope that I do the season justice. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Eight: Starving for Madness

"Who's the girl?" Oz asked, as he looked over Willow's shoulder, at Kennedy and the girl she was kissing. Though the kiss was short, the fact that it was happening, especially right where it was, relieved some of the worry he had. Yeah, he told Willow there was nothing to worry about, in terms of him being worried, but it wasn't entirely true. He had started to wonder about the two girls, after seeing how intimately they held each other when they thought their lives' were in danger. Seeing Willow hold Kennedy like that; her hand on her head, and waist, had hit him directly in the heart, making him wonder if she'd do the same for him. At the moment though, seeing Kennedy acting like the girl he had met, when she was first living in Sunnydale, gave him a little peace within himself.

Willow on the other hand, felt like she was dying inside, "What--? Who--?" she was trying to ask questions as if Kennedy were there; as if she could hear her. It was the only thing she could do, other than stare as Kennedy pulled away from the girl, and gave her most wicked grin. She thought it was a nightmare. That she had drifted off do to the fumes of the paint remover, but after a while--she knew she was awake, especially when Kennedy looked in her direction.

"Oh, shit," Kennedy said, as she looked at Willow's horrified expression. She turned to the girl in front of her, "I'll talk to you later, okay. I promise," she said, quickly, as she walked over to Willow. What started as a fast pace walk, turned into an outright run, "Willow, let me--" just as she reached out to touch the girl, someone stepped in between them, "Snyder!"

"That's Principal Snyder," the man said, pulling at the collar of his suit, "Now, unless you are here to help, you need to leave, so my volunteers here, won't be distracted."

Xander walked past Kennedy, with Oz behind him, to go get some more remover, "By volunteers he means slaves," he whispered.

"Fine," she reached down for a towel, "I'll help."

"You'll help?" the man asked, suspiciously.

She nodded, and after her looked at her with a distrusting eye, turned to the lockers, "See. Helping," the man walked off a little distance, but not far enough for her to fully turn to Willow, so she continued to wipe the locker, and whispered to Willow, "I know what you just saw was--But I promise, I can-"

"No, Kennedy," Willow said, as she too wiped the lockers.

"Please…"

"I've always been the one to listen to you when you made mistakes--no more," she started to scrub harder, "There's only one thing I want from you right now."

Kennedy looked over at the girl, with hope in her eyes, "Which is?"

She turned to her, "For you to stop trying to explain, and leave. If you do that--If you can do this one thing for me, we can meet up later, and you can explain. Not tonight though. Tonight, I need some time to think."

"Think?" she asked, not happy to hear that word.

"Yeah, Kennedy, think. What you should have done before you made out with someone in the hall," she sighed, "I just don't understand you. I mean I can understand all these complicated math problems, and understand almost any book someone puts in front of me, but I can't understand one person. Do you even know how much this--?"

"Hey Willow," Oz said, as he walked back over to his girlfriend, "I'm thinking that we're done here. There's no more remover, and Snyder went back into his office, so we should get going," he looked between the two of them, feeling a little tension, and then back at Willow, "We are still on for our thing tonight, right?"

"What thing?" Kennedy asked.

"A date thing," he said, "Maybe we could, uh, make it a double, and you could invite that girl you were kissing."

"No," Willow, and Kennedy, both blurted at the same time.

Kennedy sort of just nodded her head, "No, I'm good thanks," she said, as nicely as she possibly could, without seeming fake. She looked at Willow, "I'll see ya."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith stuffed her hands into her pockets, as her and Buffy silently walked across the street from the school. She hadn't really fully thought out what she'd say to the blonde slayer, but even what she had thought about, seemed to be fading away. What Buffy had done to her definitely did have an effect on her, a major one, but she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad effect. In some ways she felt that the girl had given her a reality check; that she had showed her were she was meant to be; on the outside. While in other ways she just felt hurt by the whole situation, mad even. She had changed parts of who she was, shown a softer side of herself, and then was, literally, slapped in the face.

"About what I did," Buffy started, as if she had heard Faith's thoughts. She stopped walking, and put her hand on Faith's arm to get her to look at her, "I am so sorry. I can't even begin to explain how bad I felt--feel, about what I did to you; all of the things I said, and hitting you. There is no excuse for what I did, even if you had take the ring, that doesn't mean I get to go off on a rampage. There's no excuse," she said, again.

"Yeah, there is," Faith said, as she started to walk, again, "I ain't crazy, or stupid. Why you did it--there's no question; you love him," she looked over at Buffy, who was looking at her, and then turned away, "We both know it. That ring meant everything, ya know, of course you're gonna go a little wild."

Buffy looked down, "But you--I shouldn't have done it to you. I mean, I shouldn't have even thought you would--"

"But I would. I would take something that doesn't belong to me--it didn't belong to me. No, it wasn't the one Angel gave you, but it sure as hell wasn't mine either. If anything I should have given it back to Scott," she was silent for a moment, "It was kind of…bound to happen. Like, I egged it on a bit. What the hell was I thinking, wearin' that thing everywhere?"

Buffy had wondered the same thing, and still hadn't figured it out herself. Why would Faith wear something that symbolized her relationship with Angel? She had heard Dawn say that it was kind of like a twisted obsession once, when she was talking to Kennedy, but she didn't think it was that, and neither had Kennedy. That, in her mind, still wouldn't excuse anything, "It doesn't matter," she said, "I shouldn't have done it."

"It doesn't matter now," she said, hearing exactly what she had wanted to hear. She looked over at Buffy, and smiled, "You hungry?"

She shrugged, with a smile, "I could eat."

Faith laughed, "Right."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"I got it," Dawn yelled, as she ran to the door. She opened the door quickly, expecting to see a familiar face, but that's not what she saw. In front of her was a girl, slightly taller than her, with shoulder length dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and slightly tanned skin, wearing a navy blue shirt, and light blue jeans. Dawn was struck to silence, blown away by the girl's beauty, especially when she smiled.

"Hi," she said, with a warm, flowing, voice, "Is Kennedy here?" she asked. The girl in front of her said nothing, so she gave her a sideways glance, all while keeping her bright smile across her face, "I am at the right house right?" still nothing, "I just wanted to give her this book…even though she's not a big reader," she lifted the book to show the girl, "See."

"Book?" Dawn said, her mouth slightly hanging open. She shook her head, "Right," she said, laughing nervously, "A book. I know what a book is. I can read," she hit herself, mentally, for saying something so stupid.

"I bet," the girl said, still keeping that smile. She put the book in one hand, and handed out the other, "I'm June."

"June," Dawn said, shaking the girl's hand, "as in the month. I'm Dawn, as in, well,… the dawn.

"It's cute," the girl said, once they were done shaking hands, "Not that I don't like standing in the doorway--"

"Oh, right," she moved aside, to let the girl in, and then closed the door, rolling her eyes at the her lack of normality, "You're here to see Kennedy, I'll take you to her," she said, leading the girl upstairs. When she reached her door, she turned to June, "She's being kind of quiet today, for some reason, do you know why?"

"Um, I'm not sure, but I'll be sure to ask," she said, with a concerned look, "Maybe it has to do with Willow, as in the tree."

"Hmm," Dawn said, with a smile, "Secret affairs can only go well, for so long," she nodded her head, thinking about her two friends. Then she headed down the stairs, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah," June said, with a smile, "you too," once Dawn was out of sight, she turned and knocked on the door. She heard the girl inside say come in, and walked in slowly, closing the door quietly behind her, seeing that Kennedy was lying down, with the covers wrapped tightly around her.

Kennedy sat up, "Oh, hey."

June smiled, sadly, "Hey."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy watched as Faith gobbled down the sandwich she had ordered, unable to stop herself from smiling. It was funny how, despite the fact that Faith ate all the time, she always seemed to be starving each and every time she ate. She would take a couple of big bites, at once, wipe her mouth, missing a spot in the corner of her mouth, and then take a drink of her drink.

"I see you still eat like a pig," Buffy said, getting the girl's attention, seeing that they hadn't really talked since they had gotten their food. They had just had the whole 'is yours good' conversation.

Faith froze, looking up at Buffy. Then she wiped her mouth, still missing that corner, putting down her sandwich. She chewed as fast as she could, and then cleared her throat, "I see you still nibble on things when you're nervous."

"I'm wondering if you meant that in a naughty way," she said, squinting at the girl.

"Clearly I didn't," she said, with a grin.

"Because nothing you say is ever a pervy undertone."

"Never," Faith said, simply.

After a moment, Buffy spoke again, "So, what exactly have you been up to, since you left? Where's Rachel?"

"I haven't been doin' much really. I was thinking about getting out of here, but uh, Kenn said she wasn't gonna leave Red, so here I am."

"Oh," Buffy said, sadly. A little let down by the fact that she wasn't the reason Faith was sitting in front of her, that very moment, and the fact that she wanted to leave Sunnydale.

"Nothin' against ya B, I was just feelin' a bit lost. Thought it would help to get out of here for a bit," she said, seeing that the girl was clearly getting sad again, "No worries," she said with a smile, "Um, I'm not real sure where Rachel headed off to though. Pretty sure she wasn't into comin' back here to see Kenn with Red."

"How'd she know?" Buffy asked.

"Stuff like that is obvious, ya know? I mean, you can tell when someone's tiggin' someone else," she shrugged, "Not sure how long it'll be before we see her again. Kinda sucks really, she's a good friend. Just got her heart broken…it's kind of a thing in our family; get hurt, or hurt somebody. That's just how it plays out after a while," she thought about all of the things that happened to her, and then pushed the thoughts away, once she was starting to feel a bit sad, "How's it been, with you?"

"Fine," she said, quickly. Then she shrugged, "Okay."

"Sunny-D, musta been pretty boring without me here," she said, concededly.

Buffy laughed, "You could say that. I caught a lot of crap from my mom, and Giles, while you were gone. Lots of studying, and training, and patrolling…which seems to take longer, when you're actually doing it. Nothing around to distract from the job."

"Like I said, boring. Good thing I'm back, then," she said, grinning, "We can go out tonight, and hopefully, things will get a little raunchy out there…in a non-sexual way, of course," she added.

"Of course," the blonde repeated.

Faith sat up in her chair, and reached across the table, "You've got something," she said, reached to the corner of Buffy's mouth, wiping away a crumb.

"So do you," Buffy said, doing the same.

They both laughed, then Faith went into a more serious mode, "Look, B, with everything that went on with us…I think we should start over."

"Start over?" she said, with a bit of joy.

"Yeah, you know, just be friends," she paused, sitting back in her chair, and picking up her sandwich, "I think that'll be better for the both of us."

"Right. Friends."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Sorry about the lack of dressing up," Willow said, as her and Oz walked to his van, "The best I could do was a sundress."

"No, you look great," he looked down at his usual t-shirt, and jeans, "Sorry about mine though. I thought about wearing a tie, but it just didn't seem to work out," Willow laughed, making him smile, "I'm glad we're doing this, I've sort of missed you."

"Missed me?" she asked, confused.

He opened her door, "Yeah. We've been a little off balance lately, but I'm thinking tonight will fix all of that. We'll be back to our usual," he gave her a quick peck, and then went to the other side, and got in the van, "So I'm thinking we go somewhere nice, where we won't bump into anyone we know. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," she said, with a smile, but once they got to the place, she sort of sunk down in her seat. It was the place where Kennedy had stood her up, and that definitely made her feel guilty.

"This is it," Oz said, looking over at Willow, "Devon told me about it, so I thought I'd bring you here. It's a little different from the usual, but it seems like a pretty good place."

They got out of the van, and went inside, and it definitely was a nice place. It was quiet, with dimmed lights, and tables with nice white table cloths, and candles.

"Wow," Oz said, looking around, "We're a little underdressed," he laced hands with Willow, "But we're not really here to impress," they walked up to the hostess, "Yeah, I've got a reservation."

"Name?" the hostess asked, not really looking up at the couple.

"Uh, Daniel Osborne."

Willow looked over at the boy, a little shocked that he had used his whole name, and by the fact that he had chosen that restaurant. It was definitely different from the places he would usually take her, which was the movies, the espresso pump, or The Bronze. The hostess lead them to their table, which was a bit away from the door, closer to the wall. Unlike the other tables, it flowers on it.

"You like them?" he asked, as they sat down.

She smiled, feeling a bit more guilty, "They're beautiful," the hostess gave them their menu, told them their waiter would be with them soon, and then left them to be alone. The fact that they were once again alone, though in a restaurant with plenty of people, made Willow wish that they had gone to a place where they could bump into someone they know, so they wouldn't be alone. It had been a very long time since they had been alone on a date, especially since she had been going on secret dates with Kennedy.

Oz put his arm across the table, for Willow to take, which she did after a second, and looked into her green eyes, "I want this night to be perfect."

"It already is," she said, thinking about the fact that Kennedy hadn't showed up on their date, to the exact same place, once again. Then she started to think about what else Kennedy was keeping from her, or lying to her about, and the fact that Oz would never do any of that to her.

"Just you being here, makes it perfect" he said, with a gentle smile, "I love you."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"I don't want to start over," Buffy said, as she kicked a punching bag. She had woken up early, woken Dawn up, and dragged the girl to a gym, so she could let out her frustration.

Dawn watched her sister pound the punching bag, "Is that a bad thing?" she asked, as she sat against a wall.

Buffy laughed, "Yeah, because that was followed by a 'just be friends', and I don't want to just be friends either," she admitted. She stopped hitting the punching bag, and leaned on it for support, breathing heavily, "God, she was so amazing, when we went patrolling last night."

"Are talking about fighting skills here?"

She ignored her sister's question, "It was just so--" she went to go sit next to her, "Fun. Yeah, the inappropriate jokes lasted the whole night, but I didn't care, because it was back to normal with us. There was no awkward, 'you hit me, and yelled at me' moments, after we talked. It was like none of that happened. She was funny, and sweet, in her own way, but she just wants to be friends."

"Maybe she was just saying that," Dawn said, trying to make her sister feel better.

"Maybe," Buffy said, almost in a whisper, "But I'm not sure. She asked me about Angel, and how me and him were doing."

"That's weird."

"What's even weirder was the fact that it actually made me think about him, in a I'm not sure what I want kind of way. Things have been a little tense between me and Angel, since the whole slapping event. We've gotten a little closer…again. Sometimes I would wonder, you know, if I was just trying to fill some void."

"You mean, using Faith?" Dawn asked.

Buffy put her face in her hands, and sighed, "I don't know. She's great, really great. And she was so understanding when I was apologizing. I missed her. But it doesn't really compare to what I felt when Angel was gone, or when he came back. Sure, Faith and I have always had that thing, but I'm just not sure if I'm just reaching, or not. What if I am?"

"So we're back to this," Dawn said, remembering the conversation she had had with Buffy the day after Faith had left. It seemed like Buffy could never fully get rid of her feelings with Angel, and that was understandable, seeing the history they shared. He was her first love; her first…everything, "I think you might want to talk to him. If Faith is really just wanting to be friends, or even just saying it, that means something. Maybe you chose the wrong person…but--"

"But?"

"But things are so complicated, when it comes to you and Angel. More complicated, in some ways, then what you and Faith have, and I'm sure she hates always coming in second. She's an all or nothing type of girl, and with you she'll always be in the nothing category, while you're still confused about Angel. The ring thing just proves that."

She knew that her sister was right. If Faith had really been who she wanted completely, the whole thing that happened that night, probably wouldn't have happened. Faith probably wouldn't have had the ring. One thing that she knew was that, other than Angel, Faith was the one that knew her best, though she wasn't sure that it ran both ways. The other slayer had to know, just like Dawn said, that she was always second. Did she even have a number when Buffy didn't love her, but she loved Angel? What did that make Faith, a distraction? In a way, she figured that's exactly what Faith was. When Angel was gone, Faith was the one that took her mind off of him, and when he came back, Faith kept her from thinking about him, and what him being back would meant.

"Do you think I'm using her?" she asked, turning to her sister, sadly.

Dawn frowned for a moment, looking away as she did, and then raised her eyebrows, "In some ways, yeah, but in other ways, I think you actually care about her. Just not the same way you care about Angel," she laughed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, because honestly, I like Faith more than Angel."

"You do?"

"Yeah, and it's not just because Faith hasn't tortured the people we love. When you're with Angel, you're happy, but also really sad, because you can't really be with him, and I don't mean sexually. Definitely not thinking sexually," she added, "But when you're with Faith, there's no sadness; there's no boundaries; there's no mood swings. Another good part of it is, we're closer. You never came to me to talk about Angel, but any time you had something to say about Faith, you'd say it to me. When you figured out that you really liked Faith, you admitted it to me first."

"Dawnie," she said, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder, "It might have taken me a while to really start talking to you, and I'm sorry for that, but I promise you, that's the way it's going to be from now on. No matter who I'm with, you're my go to girl. Somehow, you seem to be smarter--wiser, than everyone else."

"That's what I've been saying for years," Dawn said, with a smile. Then it faded, "The sad thing is, even though you and Faith's thing is less dramatic, less destructive, she's not the one that holds your heart. She's just easier…again, in a non-sexual way," she said, laughing, "You're on your own this time."

"Literally," Buffy said, flatly. She sat back against the wall, leaning her head back, staring at the ceiling, "You're right, I just need to talk to Angel about this," she looked at Dawn, "You wanna come?" she asked, in a desperate, scared, tone.

"No, not this time, but I'll be waiting for you to tell me about it, later," she said, sincerely.

Buffy hugged her sister, "You'll be the first one to hear about it."

Dawn hugged her sister back, "More like the only one, but that works too."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Before Buffy was able to make it to Buffy's, Willow called her, and asked if they could meet up for a minute, and by the way the girl was looking, when she finally reached their meeting spot, she was glad she did go. Willow looked horrible. Not horrible as in ugly, and messy, but horrible as in sad, and miserable.

"What's going on, Will?" she asked, as she sat down.

Willow gulped, "I think--no, I know--Kennedy's cheating on me."

"What?" Buffy asked, shocked by what she had heard, "No way."

"No, I'm pretty sure. There was a show to prove it," she said, sadly.

Her eyes went wide, "You caught her having sex with someone else?"

Willow frowned, "No! I saw her kissing some girl in the hall. Do you think she's sleeping with her too 'cause I don't know what I'd do if she were having sex with her too I mean I know that we weren't--but did she have to get it from somewhere else does she need it that much? I'm not really ready for anything like that Buffy, I mean I love her but sex…sex?"

"Whoa, Willow," Buffy said, putting her hands up, "You're going all over the place here. I just thought you had caught her--I doubt she'd have sex with anyone else, especially not because you and her haven't--What exactly did you see? Maybe you're just confused."

"No, I'm pretty sure her lips were touching someone else's," she said, remembering what she had seen.

"Do we know her?" Buffy asked, then she shook her head, "That doesn't matter. Wow," she said, thinking about it, "I'm sort of shocked. Why would she…?"

"Because that's who she is. Think about all the girl's she used to sleep with. Then there's the fact that she cheated on Rachel, who was completely in love with her, and was with her when I wouldn't even respond to her letters."

"You were scared though," Buffy said, remembering what the girl had told her.

"That's not what matters. What matters is the fact that I'm cheating on Oz, with someone who I'm not sure even loves me the way he does, or the way I love her. I just feel like such a bad person. He took me on a date last night, to that restaurant that Kennedy stood me up at, and then lied to me about it. It was so nice, so romantic, and it just made me wonder, what if I was making a mistake. When Rachel came back, Kennedy was going to break up with her, and I was going to break up with Oz, but now I'm not too sure. I'm not myself when I'm with her. I take things, like being lied to, and cheated on, when Oz would never do that to me. I'm cheating on someone! I wouldn't have ever done that before, but when I'm with her, whatever she says--It changes me."

"I sort of get that," Willow looked at her, expecting to continue, and she just rolled her eyes at herself, "I'm sorry, this isn't about me. Keep going."

"No, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"Well, lat night, I met up with Faith."

"Really, how did that go?"

Buffy shrugged, "It went great. We went patrolling, and hung out. She said we should start things over; just be friends."

Willow squinted, "That's not good, is it?"

"That's what I thought, at first," she admitted, "But I was talking to Dawn earlier, and she sort of opened my eyes up a bit," she paused, making sure to choose her words carefully, since Willow didn't know Angel was alive, "Basically, I'm a horrible person that uses Faith to make me forget about Angel. Like Kennedy, when Faith is with me, whatever she says, just changes me. For me, she makes me forget Angel. With you, Kennedy makes you forget about the guilt you feel, about cheating on Oz. they're definitely related," she said, thinking about the two sisters, "There's no question about that. Now, the only question is, what are you going to do?"

"Well, what are you going to do about you and Faith?" Willow asked, wondering if Buffy's choice would help her out.

"I'm going to figure out what I want, before I do anything else, because I'm not really clear on that at the moment. So, I guess," she continued, "since you know what you want, you should figure out what Kennedy wants. It's like we're in opposite situations. I don't know what I want, but Faith does, and always has. While you, you know what you want, and Kennedy, obviously, has no clue. I could rough her up, for hurting you."

Willow laughed, "No, I think I'll just follow your advice; I'll find out what she wants, and that'll tell me what to do next."

"Well," Buffy said, getting up. She gave Willow a hug, "good luck."

"You too," Willow said, as she watched Buffy walk away. She sighed, "I guess I'll have to talk to Kennedy."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Back to being reclusive, I see," June said, as she walked into the room. Kennedy was once again, in bed, lying under a mound of covers, "Have you even left this room today?" she asked, as she sat down on the bed.

"Nope," Kennedy said, as she sat up, "So, how did it go?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure. He thinks that we're together," she said, worriedly, "But I'm not fully convinced that he really gets that I don't want anything to do with him, just yet."

Kennedy ran her hands through her hair, and smiled, "Well, we'll just have to convince him."

June pulled her legs up, and sat Indian style on the bed, "Thanks so much, by the way, for helping me with this. I feel like such a loser for asking you, especially while we were in gym class. That seems to make it so much worse, some how. More embarrassing, I think."

"No, I mean, seeing you fall all over the place during basketball day was funny as hell, but you don't need to be embarrassed about asking me to help. That's what I do. I help girls with their boyfriend troubles. Second time this year, actually."

"Really, how'd the first time go?" she asked, curiously.

"Not so good," Kennedy said, thinking about the fact that both the girl, and her psycho boyfriend, were both dead, "But I promise that I'll get it right this time, even if it has gotten me into some trouble, already."

June grit her teeth, "I'm really sorry about that, by the way. I know I keep saying that, but I really can't even begin to explain how bad I feel. Have you talked to her today?"

"No, she still won't talk to me, and trust me, I've called about fifty times…within the last hour. The thing that worries me most, is the fact that I know exactly what's she's thinking, and I can't talk to her about it."

"What is she thinking?"

Kennedy rolled her eyes, "That I'm a lousy person doing things to her that Oz would never do. What sucks is that she's right," she said, laughing slightly, "He wouldn't lie to her like I do, or help someone if it meant hurting her, or at least not as much as I have. Then my track record doesn't make me look any better."

"Track record?"

"Let's just say, I've been around, but I haven't done anything like that, since me and her have started to see each other. Well, not in terms of her anyways. But Rachel--"

June leaned over a bit, putting her elbows on her knees, and putting her hands in her hands, curious to hear about the girl's life, "Who's Rachel."

"Oh, only the girl that was there for me when my mom died, when my sister left me, and my dad became a drunk," she said, sarcastically.

"Huh," was all the girl could manage.

"Yep, that's me; I'm a heartbreaker," she said, leaning back against the headboard of the bed, "I just don't want to break Willow's heart, but part of me thinks that it's sort of inevitable. I'm the one that suggested that we wait for Rachel to come back before she broke up with Oz, and now I'm thinking that I was unconsciously making sure that someone would be there to mend her heart, after I broke it. Would I really be able to do that to Rachel if she were to show back up, after all the things she's done for me? Did I mention that when I was going through all of this, Willow was no where to be found? She wouldn't answer my phone calls, or even respond to my letters, and emails."

"Wow," June said, taking in the situation.

"Yeah. Life for me, is just one big curve ball; I never where it's going," she paused, "So, what's up with you? Not that I'm not glad to have a visitor, I'm just wondering why you're here?"

"Just to give you an update," the girl said, sitting up, "And to make sure you were doing okay."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Kennedy said, honestly, "It's easy to talk to you, since you don't know Willow. That means you won't see me as being completely evil for hurting her."

"I'd never see you as evil, not after what you've done for me. There's no way someone as nice as you could be a bad person."

Kennedy scooted forward, pulling the girl into a hug, "Thanks," she closed her eyes for a second, just feeling comforted for a moment, but when she opened them, she was right back to where she had been, because in the doorway was Willow, staring right at her, "Will," she said, pulling out of the hug, "Let me explain. Don't leave," she said, jumping out of the bed, and catching the girl just as she was turning to leave.

"I'm gonna go," June said, standing up. She walked past the two of them, who were staring into each other's eyes intensely, and then at Kennedy specifically, "Sorry."

"It's fine, just go," Kennedy said, not taking her eyes off of Willow's eyes. When she heard the front door close, downstairs, she let go of Willow's arm, "Please, let me explain."

Willow walked into the room, "No, I get to talk first," she said, angrily.

Kennedy closed the door, quickly, and then walked over to Willow, who had her back to her, "Wait, just let me say--"

"I can't believe you're doing this to me," Willow said, cutting the girl off. She turned towards her angrily, and then took a step back, when she noticed how close Kennedy was, "You know what, I'm done, okay. No more miss sit around and be nice while Kennedy does what ever she wants. I won't--nope. No more waiting for you, or uh, thinking about you when I shouldn't be," she shook her head, realizing that she was just babbling, and then looked into Kennedy's eyes, "Don't you love me?"

The question threw Kennedy off. It was like she had just been hit in the face with a ton of bricks, "I--I" she said, finding it hard to answer, "I'm not sure," she finally managed, and it was true; she wasn't sure. Did she love Willow?

Willow turned away from Kennedy, and took a couple of steps, "Here's this guy, that I'm cheating on, who's good to me, and loves me. Yet, here I am. I'm with you, someone who has a history of breaking hearts. What am I doing?" she asked, mostly as a question to herself.

"Willow, let me explain, please," Willow was silent, so she took it as a sign to keep going, "I'm not cheating on you, I wouldn't."

"Oh, so you don't think kissing someone is cheating, 'cause--"

"Not when they don't mean anything," she blurted. Instantly, she regretted it when Willow turned around and looked at her with more hurt in her eyes.

"That's even worse," Willow said, tears building in her eyes, "I can't do this," she said, heading towards the door, but Kennedy grabbed her again.

"She's just a friend, okay. She's not even that," another bad choice of words, "We're in the same gym class…she came to me, needing some help with getting rid of this guy, and so I was helping her."

"If helping means kissing, then doesn't it occur to you, not to do it?" she asked, angrily.

"But--"

"No buts," she shook her head, "I don't want you kissing anyone else, for any reason."

"That's not fair," Kennedy blurted, feeling the need to defend herself, "You kiss Oz, to make him feel that you care about him, when you don't!"

"I do care about him!" Willow yelled.

Kennedy stepped back, looking down at the ground, "What does that mean?" she asked.

"Kennedy, I've known him longer, and I've been with him longer, I should care about him."

"Right," Kennedy said, nodding, "Well, maybe you should just be with him," she kept nodding, "We should just be friends."

"Friends?"

She looked at the redhead, "Yeah, I think that'll be better…for the both of us."

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"Hey," Buffy said as she walked into the mansion. Angel was sitting on the couch, just staring into space, "You okay?" she asked.

He twitched, and then looked at her, "Yeah…How are you?" he asked, as she sat down.

She shrugged, "I'm okay, I guess. Faith's back."

"Oh, yeah? How's she?"

"She's good," Buffy said, forcing a smile.

"That's good," he said simply, "So, why are you here with me, instead of her?"

She didn't say anything for a minute, and they both just stared at each other. Eventually, she answered his question, "Because I want to be here…with you."

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After Willow had left, Kennedy needed to get out of the house, so she decided to take a walk around Sunnydale, to think for a bit. She thought about her relationship with Willow, and what she had said to June about it. All of it was true, she had been sort of been waiting for things to go wrong between her and Willow, but she hadn't expected it to happen so soon. She really hadn't expected the love question, but that just went along with the whole curve ball scenario. Of course, it couldn't stop there. No, not when there were still a couple of hours left in the day. Just when she was about to turn into an alley, she heard a familiar voice, two familiar voices. She leaned against the nearest building, and looked into the alley, making sure that they couldn't see her.

"You don't need to do that," Faith said, on the verge of getting angry.

"She needs to know, Faith," Rachel said, already angry.

"But she's the one that's wrong. She's the one cheating on you with Willow," she said, trying to change the girl's mind.

Rachel look down, "I knew that was going to happen, though. The difference between me and Kennedy is that I can't stand feeling guilty, even if the other person is wrong too," she looked at Faith, "We have to tell her the truth."

"Please, Rachel, don't do this."

"She deserves to know," she said. Faith turned away from her, heading out of the alley, "Faith," she called, "I'm going to tell her. I'm going to tell her that we slept together."

Kennedy stepped out of her hiding place, "You what?"

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, there you go. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and didn't mind getting thrown around so much, 'cause there's a lot more to come. If you get nauseous, try to aim for the toilet. No, I'm kidding. Like I said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm not sure if I'm going to make another 'in between' or just put more drama in 'Revelations' the episode that followed 'Band Candy', because 'Revelations' is already full of drama, and I naturally have to add more anyways, so I'm not sure. I'll let you guys know though. What I do know is that whether it's an 'in between' or not, Kennedy is going to confront Faith, for lying to her, and she's going to figure out her thing with Rachel. That's not much, considering everything else that's going on, but that's what I've got. Thanks for reading, and please review, I would appreciate it. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typos.


	12. Everyone Is So Near…And Yet So Far

Hi! Yeah, I know the excited hi is probably getting a slap in the face right now, due to my absolutely ridiculous lateness, but still…Hi! No? Well, okay. Hmm, I'm really sorry that the wait was so long. I've been super busy, and super tired…like naps…everyday. Anyways, I'm going to set a schedule of when I update which story, and so on, so I make sure that I give both equal time, though this one takes so much longer to write, when it's not an 'in between' chapter. So yeah, I'm going to give some thanks to all the readers, and reviewers. You guys rock…um on a specific note--there's a couple of thanks to certain reviewers (the one's that reviewed the last chapter) at the bottom.

To all my other reviewers, who I did not mention but don't think any less of, thank you very much. For those who don't review, no hard feelings, I love you anyways. Now on with the show. Hope you enjoy the chapter, please review, thank you…again. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typo's. I'm tired.

Chapter Nine: Everyone Is So Near…And Yet So Far

"You what?" Kennedy yelled, stopping dead in front of her sister. She saw Faith stumble back, after almost getting into a fighting stance, but the fact that her sister's reflexes could have popped in didn't even go through Kennedy's mind. What was going through her mind was the sound of Rachel's voice saying that the two of them had slept together, "I--I can't believe you did this--I," she put her hand to her face, and then put it back down, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking.

Faith was still in complete shock, as she stared at her sister. The fact that Rachel had shown up was bad enough, she knew that would end in some trouble for her, but then Kennedy overhearing what she heard--that just topped it off, "Kennedy," she said, reaching out. Kennedy just pulled away, sending a pain through Faith's heart, "Kenny," she tried again, "please…I-I know that I-"

Rachel went to stand next to Faith, "Please, let us just explain. I mean, we didn't--we did, but it was just-"

"What, it was just sex?" Kennedy said, glaring at them, "You don't know the half of it," she said, looking specifically at Rachel, "You were just another notch in her headboard. Another fuck she'll soon forget."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Faith said, putting herself between the two of them, "You want to yell at someone; blame someone? Then yell at me, blame me. I'm the one who started it, okay. Not her. Don't forget to add a bit of blame for yourself too. She knew you were going to cheat on her."

"Screw you," she pushed her sister, but the slayer barely moved, "Yeah, I did. I did cheat, but did you know that I ruined any possible chance I had with Willow, for Rachel? Did you know that in the back of my head I set up boundaries because I knew that if Rachel were to ever come back, I would choose her over Willow? And for what, huh? For what? Only to find out later down the line that she slept with my sister. I mean I get that what I did was wrong, but what you did--so much worse. Then," she said, with a sarcastic laugh, "to top it off, you lied about it," Faith looked away from her, the guilt playing over her, "You gave me this grand speech, almost had me leave Sunnydale with you--Oh, wait," she put her hands over her eyes for a moment, and then laughed, angrily, "you wanted to run, so Rachel couldn't find us. So you could get away with your little--"

"That's not true," Faith said, cutting her sister off. She looked at Rachel, "That's not true," she said, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Isn't it? Look at me!" Faith looked up at her, "Stop lying to me. Just stop…it's all you ever do. God only knows what else you're lying about. What else you've keeping from me. But for some strange reason, I always trusted you," she paused, "both of you, not to ever hurt me, like you're hurting me right now."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said, quietly.

Kennedy shook her head, "No. I'm just--I'm done. I've spent most of my life looking up to my big sister, following her around, taking care of her, because she was too busy killing things to do it herself…I gave up so much, because I loved you, but I won't do it anymore. Both of you just need to stay away from me."

Faith gasped, "Kenn, no. I'm your sister, come on, we can get through this. I'll fix this."

"You're wrong," she said, turning to walk away, "we're not sisters. Not anymore."

Faith watched her sister walk away, gripping the collar of her shirt, which had suddenly seemed to close to her throat. She wanted to call out to her; to apologize one more time, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good. If anything, it would get her a slap in the face, and that would be too much for her to handle. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes, and she felt the sounds of her pain trying to escape her mouth, but she didn't want to cry. This time, it wasn't her choice; her body couldn't take it. Finally, after all the things she had been feeling from the moment Buffy's hand hit her across the face, began to come out of her, like a flood. The weeping was intense, making her chest her, and her head pound. When she felt Rachel's hand on her shoulder, she almost gagged, pictures from the night of betrayal forcing themselves in front of her. She pulled away, yanking her body forward, and then looked at the girl for a moment--more of a woman, than a girl--and then she started to run.

Her feet just started to move, as her head continued to fill itself, pushing her to a point of unconsciousness. It was like she was just sitting within herself, while her feet hit the pavement, and sounds of her struggling to breathe filled the air. She sat there, but she knew where she was going. There was only place she could go to; one person that could make her feel better; the person who had hurt her in the first place. If she would have been in any other state of mind, if she were in touch with who she really was, she would have been angry. Her trip to the Summers' house would be to yell, and tell the blonde slayer that it was her fault that she no longer had a sister, but at the moment, not a single thought went in that direction. Faith was going to be comforted, not to attack.

After what seemed to be a haze of time, finally, she found herself standing at the door. That smooth brown door. She lifted her hand, but before her knuckles could even graze the door's surface, it flew open, and out stepped the youngest Summers.

"Faith?" Dawn said, looking at the slayer closely, "What's wrong with you? Are you--" she squinted, confirming that she was seeing tear stains on Faith's cheeks, "Is Kennedy okay? Did something happen?" Faith shook her head, "Then what's going on?"

"Can I just--Can I just talk to Buffy, please?" she asked, in a sort of mumble.

Dawn shook her head, "Buffy's not here, I thought she was with you. I guess that only leaves one place then," Faith nodded, both of them understanding, "If you, uh, want to try your luck there, or the cemetery…I'm sure you'll find her," she put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Look, I know that we don't get along, but--are you okay?"

She sniffled, "Yeah, I'm five by five. Thanks. I'm just gonna--when you see Buffy next, can you tell her I need to talk to her?"

"No problem," Dawn said, with a slight smile, "Goodnight, Faith," she watched as Faith walked away, and then went back inside, knowing that things were about to change.

Faith also knew something was about to change; her whole life. She lost her sister. The one person that stood by here when she was screwing up her life, was gone. Dawn, she knew, was going to hate her more, along with all of the rest of the 'Scooby gang'. Kennedy was the one they liked to hang out with, not her. Now she had no chance at all.

"Faith?" Buffy said, spotting the girl, as she walked across the street. Even with her back to her, she knew that something was wrong with the brunette, "Are you okay?" the girl froze, and then turned around slowly, revealing her tear stained cheeks, and the fresh ones beginning to fall. Buffy quickened her pace, almost running, over to the other slayer. Once she was in reaching distance, she pulled Faith into her; wrapping her arms around her, and holding her tightly. The fact that Faith was crying, not only crying in general, but crying in public told her that was really hurting, "Hey," she said, rubbing Faith's back, as she felt her return the squeeze, "shhh, it's okay. Whatever it is," she whispered, "it's going to be okay. I promise."

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TWO MONTHS LATER…

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Faith sat up in her bed, and turned the buzzing alarm off. For a moment, she just looked around, taking in the sight of her junky motel room that she now thought of as home. Ironically enough, it was more like home for her then the mansion she had once stayed in. The only thing missing, was her sister. She pushed the covers aside, and stood up slowly, her body feeling heavy, and walked over to the sink, where she splashed some cold water onto her face. The mirror, had become her enemy, because what she looked like when she woke up, was how she felt inside, but she always looked. She always looked up into her own brown eyes. It was the closest she could get to her sister; a simple glance at the same color eyes, the eyes they had gotten from their mother. That's how it had been for the last two months. Occasionally, she'd get to see Kennedy from afar, when she'd go see Buffy, but that hardly ever happened. Mostly, because she knew that if she got too close, Kennedy would only hate her more. She had, after all, told her to stay away, so that's what she did.

Tonight, however, she was probably going to see her. It wasn't that she didn't want to, it was more like she was afraid to, despite the fact that it would only be for a minute or two, and from a distance. All she was doing was meeting Buffy at The Bronze, picking her up to go patrolling, but she knew that there was a big chance that Kennedy would be there, and that was enough to make her feel sick inside. All the guilt seemed to boil back up within her, though it had never really left, at all. The other slayer had managed to help a bit, especially in the beginning, when she'd stop by all the time to see if everything was okay, but eventually Buffy's visit started to slow down, and Faith was forced to deal with it on her own. She figured, after a while, that it was for the best, and she was sure that was what Buffy was thinking too, especially when she was being kicked out of the motel room. There was no way anyone could fix her problems, and the one person that usually did, was no longer available.

Despite Buffy's fewer visits, the blonde slayer was what kept Faith going a lot of the time. When Faith refused to get out of bed, Buffy would toss her into the shower, and make her do something, anything that would take her mind off of things. She would bug Faith until she got up, and then come back later to make sure she had eaten, because the only way to get food was to leave, and she wasn't doing that much leaving. All of those moments, were the only things that made Faith open her eyes to the harshness of her world. This of course, woke up some feelings within her; feelings that she had tried to get rid of; feelings that were part of the reason she was in the situation she was in with Kennedy. All those things she had tried to push aside, just reappeared. Each and every time Buffy came to see her, whether she'd let it be none or not, a part of her came to life. Every knock would let her feel a little bit of joy. She tried to bury it, tried to push it so far down that it could never resurface again, by reminding herself that she and Rachel had ended up in that room, because of what the other slayer had done, but she couldn't do it. She just couldn't, so one day, she decided to stop trying. An old part of herself snapped back on, and she was ready to go for what she wanted. Back to the whole want and take routine, except it wasn't like that at all really, because unlike the old days she didn't just take. When Buffy was around, she could hardly speak, let alone take, so she came up with a plan.

Because she had been the one to say that they should start over, it was up to her to get rid of that little idea, and let Buffy know that that's not what she wanted anymore. She figured that she'd have to make sure that she hadn't pushed the girl into Angel's arms first, which was the hardest step, because she wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she had to know before she went any further. Now, to find out what the other slayer's relationship status was, she knew that hiding out was no longer an option. She would have to spend time with Buffy outside of her shit hole. Not everyone felt it was the most inviting place, like she had grown to feel. Not only would she have to leave her room, but also her downing mood as well. She didn't want Buffy to only talk to her, because she was a train wreck, after all. Pity wasn't her thing--or it hadn't been once. That was why, she wasn't going to let the fact that Kennedy might be at there keep her from going to spend time with Buffy.

She splashed her face, one more time, and then grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans, along with a dark blue jean jacket, and a black tank, slipped on her boots, and then headed out into the world. She let her confidence rise to the highest it could get, without making her into the cocky-ass she once brought out, when on the prowl, and then walked into the darkness of the night.

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Willow sat, trying to focus on her boyfriend playing on stage, and ignore the fact that Kennedy was dancing with some girl, on the dance floor. It wasn't the fact that Kennedy was with someone else that really bothered her, though it did at first, it was the fact that when she looked at Kennedy, her insides melted. It had been two months since they ended their secret affair--or since Kennedy ended it--and one month since Kennedy had returned from visiting her father, ignoring the fact that they were in the middle of the school year.

Despite what she had thought, it hadn't been that hard to get used to not being with Kennedy. Maybe that was because there was no way she could get to the girl's mansion, but still, it hadn't been as hard as she expected. Of course, she cried for a while--practically the whole month--but she stopped, eventually. Oz made it pretty easy too. With Kennedy out of the way, she could actually spend some real time just focusing on Oz, and their relationship. Mending it, and etc. It was like everything was back to normal; when there were Scooby meetings, though they were rare, it was only the gang, no one else--unless Dawn dropped by, which she often did; when her and Buffy wanted to hang out, also rare, there were no random drop ins by Faith, or Kennedy. Things were like they used to be. Even when came back, she wasn't around much. It was when she was, that the issues arose.

It seemed that when Kennedy came back, she really came back, one hundred percent 'old' Kennedy. The flirtiness; the cockiness; the only showing up when she wants to; all of it came back with her, in full force. She had that attitude, and she wasn't letting it go. The one time Willow actually asked her about it, she told her that the world didn't revolve around her, and to fuck off. Later on, she gave a half-ass apology, but still, Willow was a little hurt by it. More shocked then hurt, but still. After a month of dealing with the 'old' Kennedy, she had grown quite used to it; it was really back to normal…too normal. At first, she thought 'her acting like that will make it easier,' but it turned out not to be so true. No, Kennedy hadn't been super rude, when her and Faith had first came to Sunnydale, but she was everything else, and that was definitely a problem, because that was the Kennedy Willow had fallen in love with, in the first place.

"Man," Xander said, sitting next to Willow, and practically drooling, "Look at her go," Cordelia gave him a look, "Or not. No, don't look."

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "The both of you are so ridiculous. What is it with you and lesbians, Xander?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Not lesbians," he said, continuing to watch, "All hot girls. The lesbian part, just makes it so much better."

"You're disgusting. Why do I even go out with you?" she looked at Willow.

"You better stop staring, Oz is coming." Xander warned.

Willow cleared her throat, and looked away from Kennedy, spotting Oz trying to make his way through the thick crowd, "Oz!" she called, "Hey! Have a seat--" she looked next to her, seeing that her, Xander, and Cordelia, had taken all of the seats. "Except, we don't have any seats."

"It's okay," Oz said, inching closer to his girlfriend, "I'll just squeeze in."

Xander, not liking how close he was to Willow, scooted closer to Cordelia, who frowned, "Xander, why are you giving me a lap dance?"

He laughed, nervously, and rubbed her arm, "What? I just like you."

Thinking of her own situation, while also remembering that Xander has feeling for her, Willow began to speak, "And that's very beautiful," she glanced over at Kennedy, who had some girl grinding into her, for a moment, and then continued, "I think it's great when two people like two people and want to be close to them instead of anyone else."

Xander nodded, "Hear! Hear!"

"Yeah. Well put," Oz said, frowning. Then he reached towards a cup on the table, "Hey, can I snag a sip?"

"Sure," Willow said, with a smile.

Xander also reached for it, "Yeah, you go it," when his hand touched Willow's, he flinched, knocking over the cup, and then stood up trying to avoid the spill. Apparently, he stood up and attracted the attention of all of the people around them, who began to applaud, "Thank you! Thank you. We're here through Saturday. Enjoy the veal," he sat down, embraced.

Cordelia leaned close, "Why are you guys so hyper?" she asked, thinking it was both Willow, and Xander, that knocked the cup over.

Avoiding the topic, Willow decided to change the subject, "Hey!," she said, suddenly, "Speaking f people and things they do that aren't like usual, anyone notice Buffy acting sort of different lately?"

"Let's see," Xander said, looking up, "uh, killing zombies…uh, torching sewer monsters…uh, no, that's pretty much the, uh, same old Buffster," he said, with a nod.

Willow frowned, "Well, I just mean, you know, she's off by herself a lot more, and she's kind of…distracted."

"Think maybe she has a new honey?" Cordelia asked, excitedly.

Willow's eyes went wide, "A boyfriend?" she paused, "or…'cause you know--why wouldn't she tell us?"

"Excuse me?" Cordelia said, as if she had misheard, "When your last steady killed half the school class, then your rebound guy sends you a dump-o-gram, not to mention, that thing with Faith, that mysteriously disappeared one day? It makes a girl shy," she explained.

"But we're the best of Buffy's bestest buds," Xander said, pouting, "She'd tell us."

"Tell you what?" Buffy asked, coming up to stand somewhat between Willow and Xander.

Willow turned towards her, "About your new boyfriend, or--you know, who we made up--unless, we didn't."

"This was a topic of discussion?" the slayer asked, looking at all of her friends.

"Well, raised, but never discussed," Oz said, coolly.

"So, are you dating somebody or not?" Cordelia said, leaning across the table, trying to get the girl to answer the question.

"I wouldn't use the word 'dating,'" she answered, with a devilish smile, "but I am going out with somebody--Tonight, as a matter of fact."

"Really? Who?" Willow asked.

As if on cue, Faith walked up, "Yo, what's up? Hey time to motorvate."

Buffy put her arm around the other slayer's shoulder, "Really, we're just good friends," she said, still with a smile on her face. Then she noticed that Faith wasn't paying attention at all, that she was instead staring at Kennedy, and cleared her throat, "You ready?"

Faith watched her sister for a moment, and then turned to Buffy, "Yeah."

Once the two slayers were out of site, Willow turned back to the table, "I wonder if she knows 'motorvate' isn't a word?" she asked, directing the question to no one, "I just--Faith hasn't been around so I assumed they weren't you know--but I guess they are."

"Maybe they're not, Will," Xander said.

"I don't think they are," Oz added.

"Oh, look," Xander said, noticing that Kennedy was heading in their direction, "Hey, Kennedy. You're looking very--sweaty," he said, smiling goofily.

"Yeah, well, I've been out there for a while, and it's fucking hot," she looked at the girl she had been dancing with, "Very hot," after a moment, she turned back to the table, seeing that there were no seats, so she thought up a quick plan, "Hey, Will, you look like you want to get out there."

Willow shifted in her seat, surprised that Kennedy had the nerve to ask her to dance, while Oz was standing right next to her, "I--uh, no, I--"

"Oz," she said, making her way to stand behind the couple, "Why don't you go dance with her, geez."

He shrugged, "I don't--"

"Whatever," she pushed him forward a bit, and then pushed Willow up with the him, giving her a tap on the butt, "go on," when both of them walked onto the dance floor, giving her a look, as they did, she sat down, "Yes! Got a seat," she said, with a grin.

"Wow," Cordelia said, looking away from Kennedy. She looked at Willow and Oz, "They are awkward."

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"Do they always fight like this?" Dawn asked, watching Faith and Buffy as they pounded two vampires, each of them fighting in their own area. They were both doing very well, hardly getting hit at all, but it was the aggressiveness that was weird, and the non-stop hitting; one blow after another, with some kicks, and some throwing, "It's kind of weird, right? More…aggressive?"

Giles kept lifting his cup of coffee to his lips, and then holding it down, looking between the two slayers, "What's weird is…" he paused, watching Faith come back from being thrown over a bench, by throwing the vamp back over it the way it had done it to her, "you tagging along. I don't think your mother appreciates you sneaking around cemeteries looking for your sister, when you could be killed in the process."

The two slayers hit their vamp until the two vampires were back to back, and then staked them at the same time. Giving a high five right after, "Synchronized slaying," Buffy said, with a smile, as they walked over to Giles, and Dawn.

Faith smiled, "New Olympic category."

Buffy looked at Giles, "What do you think?" she asked, ready to be praised.

"Sloppy," all eyes turned to a woman in a black skirt suit, with a tan bottom up shirt, blonde hair, that was pulled back, blue eyes, and small pearls around her neck, "You telegraph punches, leave blind sides open and, for a school-night, takes entirely too much time. Which one of you is Faith?" she asked,

"Depends," Faith said, cautiously, "Who the hell are you?"

"Gwendolyn Post, Mrs. Your new watcher."

"Dun dun dun," Dawn said, sarcastically. Everyone looked at her, "What, it just seemed like one of those moments."

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Now at the library, Faith stood, staring at the lady, who had her back to her going through some books, "I'm telling you, I don't need a new watcher. No offense, lady. I just have this problem with authority figures."

"And everyone else in the world," Dawn added, sitting across from her sister.

Faith ignored Dawn's comment, "They end up kind of dead," she sat down next to Buffy, hoping that the woman would be scared away.

Dawn laughed, "Also everyone else," she paused, "or they just stop coming around," she added, knowing that Faith would get the message, and by the look she received from Buffy, so did she.

"Duly noted," Gwendolyn put down the book, and look around, "and fortunately, it's not up to you. Mr. Giles, where do you keep the rest of your books?" she asked, turning to him.

"I--I'm sorry," he fumbled, "the rest?"

"Yes, the actual library," he didn't respond, "Oh, I see."

He cleared his throat, "I can assure you, Mrs. Post, this is the finest occult reference collection…"

"…this side of the Atlantic, I'm sure," she took a few more steps, "do you have Hume's 'Paranormal Encyclopedia'?" he once again, said nothing, "The labyrinth maps of Malta?"

Buffy looked to Giles hopeful that he would have it.

But he didn't, "It's on order," he said, looking down at the cloth in his hands.

"Well," she went to sit on part of the table, "I suppose that you have Sir Robert Kane's 'Twilight Compendium?'"

"Oh! Yes, I--" he started to look on the shelves, excitedly, then he found it, "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Yes," she stood up, "Of course you do," she walked to the other side, standing a bit closer to Faith, "I have been sent by the Council for a very important reason. Faith needs a watcher. I am to act that capacity and report back."

Faith sat up, "Excuse me, Mary Poppins, you don't seem to be listening--"

"Faith," he interrupted, "if the Council feels that you need closer observation, then we will all, of course, cooperate."

"The Council wishes me to report on the entire situation here, including you," the woman added.

"Hmm, academic probation' not so funny today, huh, Giles?" Buffy asked, with a smile.

"What is funny," Dawn said, looking at her sister, "is that beanie on your head. 'Bomb', really?"

Buffy touched her beanie, "Hey--" Giles shot her a look, and she closed her mouth, instantly.

Gwendolyn started to pace, again, "The fact is, there is talk in the Council that you have become a bit too…American."

"Me?"

"Him?" Buffy and Dawn said, at the same time.

She stopped walking, "A demon named Lagos is coming here to the Hellmouth. Mr. Giles, an illustration of Lagos, if you please."

"Oh, uh…" he grabbed a book, and sat down, "yes. Uh…"

"Perhaps later," she said, impatiently, "Lagos seeks the Glove of Myhnegon. No rec--"

"No record of its full power exists, but it's dangerous, and she be kept out of all demon hands," Dawn finished. She looked over at Giles, "I'm sure you read that to me once," she said, with a wink. Buffy and Faith looked at her oddly.

Gwendolyn cleared her throat, "Yes, well, Lagos must be stopped."

"What do you suppose?" Giles asked.

"Well, if it's not too radical a suggestion," she said, smugly, "I thought we might kill him," she took a few steps, "I suggest two slayers at full strength for a coordinated hunt--," she looked at Dawn, "leave the child at home. We believe the glove to be buried in a tomb somewhere, so Lagos will be headed for the cemetery."

"There is more than one in Sunnydale," the man said.

"I see. How many?"

"Uh, twelve, within the city limits," he answered.

"Well, we'll just have to take them one at a time. Anything in your books that might pinpoint the exact location of the tomb would be useful. But," she said, as he started to open a book, "then, we cannot ask for miracles," Giles just sat there, "We will begin tomorrow at sunset. Faith…with me, please," the woman said, walking out of the library.

Faith sat there for a moment, looking at everyone at the table, and then stood up, following the woman out.

"Wow," Dawn said, once the two were gone.

"Interesting lady," Buffy said, looking down. She looked up, suddenly, with a smile on her face, "Can we kill her?" she asked, both Buffy and Dawn looking at the man, with hope.

Giles took off his glasses, "I think the Council might frown upon that. Well…" he stood up, and put on his glasses, "how do you feel about a spot of training?"

"Sorry," Buffy said, standing up, "I've got to get Dawnie home. Let's go Dawn."

"Bye Giles, see you later," Dawn said, looking over her shoulder.

"Goodnight," he sat down, and sighed, "Dear Lord."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

The next day, Buffy had woke up, had a normal day, and then decided to go to the mansion to see Angel. She told him that she'd do some Tai Chi with him for a while, to work on her body control, but what started off as sweaty Tai Chi, turned into awkward closeness, and an almost kiss. Buffy pulled out of Angels' arms, and walked away from him, to get her things off the sofa.

"Uhh…I got to go," she said, trying not to look at him, "Big night for us slayer types. People to see…demons to kill. Better hurry before somebody figures out what we're doing," once she had everything, she headed towards the nearest exit.

"What are we doing?" Angel asked, buttoning up his shirt.

Buffy froze, "Training," she said, not turning to face him, "And almost kissing," she turned, "Sorry. It's just…old habit. Bad, bad habit….to be broken."

"It's hard," Angel said, honestly.

"It's not hard. Cold turkey. That's the key to quitting."

"Did Faith tell you that?" Angel asked, trying to hide his jealousy.

Buffy thought about it for a minute, "It does sound like something she would say."

"You have to go."

Buffy nodded, "I really do. I'm going to try and vent a little hormonal angst by going out there and killing a Lagos, whatever that is."

Angel sat down, "Lagos?" he asked, thinking it sounded familiar.

"Some demon looking for some all-powerful thingamabob, and I got to stop him before he unleashes unholy havoc, and it's another Tuesday night in Sunnydale," she said, turning to leave.

"Be careful," Angel said, as she left. When she was gone, he grabbed his jacket, and took off.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Oh, this is intolerable," Giles said, slamming down a book. He got up, "There's not a word here about Lagos or the glove," he looked at Xander, who was standing in front of him, and then at Willow, who was upstairs with a book in hand. Last but not least, he looked at Dawn, who was sitting next to Kennedy, "which is strange, because Dawn said--"

"Oh, I just guessed," Dawn said, sitting up straight in her chair, "It seemed like one of those typical movie moments where something like that would happen, so it was pretty easy to fill in the blanks. I just had to remember not to try and be too smart by saying specific demon names, and stuff like that," the man looked at her, frustrated, "What? I was just trying to help you out. That lady was ripping you a new one."

"We don't have time for this near-missing," he went on, looking back at Xander, "Just find out all you can about the demon--it's strengths, its weaknesses., its places of origin--and most importantly, what it plans to do with this blasted glove."

"Hey, you're not the watcher of me," Xander said, jokingly, but Giles didn't get the joke.

"Then go home. But if you choose to stay, then work," he stood there for a moment, and then went into his office.

Kennedy got up, and headed up the stairs, "Smooth," she said, was she walked by Xander, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Ugh, it's late. I'm tired," Willow said, as Kennedy approached her. They walked over to a bookshelf, that had a corner formed a corner for them to look half heartedly, without the watcher seeing them; a place they had found a long time ago. They sat down, "My eyes are all blurry, and my head hurts," Willow said, leaning forward, as she started to rub her temples.

Kennedy, who was sitting slightly behind the redhead, popped her fingers, "This hands will make you forget all your troubles," she said, with a grin. She reached forward, moving Willow's hair back, and started to rub the girl's temples, instantly regretting it once she had. Hanging out with Willow wasn't a problem, she could keep her distance then, but making actual contact--made it a little difficult.

Willow was melting under Kennedy's massages, her heart was pounding in her chest, and her breathing was jagged. Eventually, she just gave into what her body wanted, she sat up quickly, and turned just enough to reach Kennedy's lips. The softness blew her away, she had almost forgotten how soft the girl's lips were, but the memories came back. The girl's touch, all of it swarmed over her, as she let herself become lost.

"Willow, Kennedy," Giles said, walking up the stairs, and turning to a shelf across from the two girls, not looking at them at all, "You can stop your, uh, studying," he picked up a book, "I've got what we needed."

As they separated, Willow and Kennedy stood up in time to see that Dawn, and Xander had also come up the stairs with the watcher, making Willow blush.

"What have you got?" Kennedy asked, ignoring the looks she was receiving, mostly from Dawn.

"Uh, the probable location of the glove," the man said, truing around, "of Myhnegon. It's housed in the Von Hauptman family crypt."

"Oh, right. I know where that is," Kennedy started to snap her fingers, "it's uh…ooh, over at Restfield."

"Yeah, well, that's great, Giles," Willow said, leaning against a book shelf, "How'd you find it?"

"I found it," Dawn said, proudly, "Yep, it was me."

"Where's Buff?" Kennedy asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Giles said, as he began to read something.

"Well," Kennedy stepped forward, "I'll go check out this crypt--along with Xander, and Dawn. Give Buffy the heads-up if she stops by," she walked through Dawn and Xander, "Come on, you two."

They started to walk away, "Yes, by all means, go," Giles said, not really paying attention.

"And I'll just keep studying," Willow said, still in her spot, "I think we're on the verge of a big Lagos breakthrough."

"No," Giles looked at the girl, "I'd say we're done," he said, before walking away.

Willow sighed, putting her hands to her lips, "Oh, god."

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Okay, I had planned on stopping at a different part, but I'm dying, and I want to go to bed, so here you go. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Yes, there is a lot more to come in this ep, so I will be making a part two…hopefully not a part three. Uh, next time…Faith takes her first step, Buffy's secret is revealed, and Willow has some problems dealing with kissing Kennedy, while Kennedy seems to be fine. I hope to get the next chapter up soon…seriously. Please review, and thanks for reading. -ThomThom

Please, before reading, not that I am tired…

Chelsea: thank you so much for saying that the last chapter was incredible. I'm sure that you have probably forgotten about that by now, but still…thank you. I really appreciate it, and hope you liked this chap too.

DarkWitch: Wow, I'm glad that I caused some difficulty in breathing…and shock. Thanks so much for reviewing, as you usually do. That review had me laughing, and almost boasting, with pride, so thanks.

El: I am so sorry I left you teetering on the cliff for so long. I'm sure it's getting tiring…yes, I'm that tired. Anyways, I too wish things could be simple some times, but sometimes things being complicated make them better to enjoy in the end…Things will definitely get interesting.

Rain: You know, I really did push that event in the hotel aside so I could get the whole, 'oh yeah…' reaction, so I'm glad that it actually worked. Thank you so much for reviewing, I love that you're constant with it, and I really do love that you always do it, so thanks.

A friend: Yes, the drama! Thank you for reviewing, I always look forward to seeing what you have to say, 'cause you always comment on specific stuff, and go into a rant that's always funny. I also love the sisterliness between Buffy and Dawn. I really wanted to give them a tight bond, to sort of contrast between Kennedy's and Faith's, so that works out, and I just love writing them in the same scene. It's nice to know that someone else appreciates it too. Also, as a fan of yours, I am waiting for your nest update…No I'm kidding…seriously. Anyways, thank you so much. Oh, and thanks for the good luck wish, too.

SITKennedy: I'm glad that you're hooked to my story. I don't plan on throwing you back anytime soon…remember, I'm tired. Thanks for the patient waiting, I hope you liked this chapter.

Thanks to everyone, again.


	13. Everyone Is So NearAnd Yet So Far Pt2

Alright, so the whole chapter is complete…meaning the rest has been added…so I hope you enjoy it, and that you didn't mind the wait too much. It came out pretty long, as you can see. So, find where you left off, and start from there, there's a lot to follow. For those of you reading my other story as well, that will be updated soon. Thanks to all of the reviewers, I really appreciate them all. Also thanks to the readers. Um, this chapter was pretty long, just 'cause some of the scenes had lots of dialogue, plus what I had to add, and the scenes I added in general, so I hope that it is really enjoyable, 'cause it was a lot of work. Thanks again, and please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Nine: Everyone Is So Near…And Yet So Far Pt. 2

Faith stuffed her hands in her pocket, as her and Buffy walked through the streets of Sunnydale, looking for the demon they had been searching for, for hours, "Ronnie, deadbeat. Steve, Klepto," they stopped, waiting for a car to pass, as they crossed the street, "Kenny--"

"Kenny?" Buffy said, interrupting, as they crossed, "Wow, I couldn't imagine dating a guy with a name even close to my sister's. Dan, is even to close," she said, laughing. Faith shot her a look, which only made her want to laugh more, but she tried to stop herself, "I'm sorry. Continue. Kenny--"

"Kenny," Faith said, after taking a breath, "Drummer. Eventually, I just had to face up to my destiny as a loser magnet. Then it was strictly get some, get some. You can't trust guys," she looked over at the blonde, thinking about that fact that guys were the last thing on her mind. No, the only person she wanted--girl she wanted--was standing right next to her. The topic of discussion, which was her past relationships, wasn't what she had in mind to talk about at the moment, but Buffy had asked her, and so she answered. Most importantly, she answered honestly, not sugarcoating it, or making it more than it was. None of those guys had really meant anything to her, she had only given the possibility of meaning something, which turned out to be a total waste of time.

"You can trust some guys," she looked over at Faith, who had her eyebrows raised, and laughed, "Really, I've read about them," she said, laughing. She wasn't exactly sure why she had wanted to hear about Faith's past experiences with guys, or why she was defending guys--no, she knew that part. She was defending guys, because of Angel, but then again, he wasn't really trustworthy. Not all the time.

"Yeah," Faith grazed her hand over a post office box, starting to feel a bit nervous. She slowed her pace, and prepared herself to get the information she wanted; needed, from Buffy, "So what about you?" she asked.

"Me?" she frowned, "And guys?" she stopped walking.

Stopping only made her more nervous. Now, she had to look at Buffy; to stand directly in front of her, and try to hide the hope she was feeling inside, and--if things were to go wrong, the disappointment, and sadness. Finally it was time. This was the moment she'd know if there was a chance for her and Buffy, if she could take her next step, "Yeah, you know, you and Angel."

Buffy looked down. Strangely, talking to Faith about Angel made her uncomfortable. Angel would bring up Faith, when she'd say something the other slayer would say, or if he was just asking about her, but Faith--she never brought Angel up. The fact that she didn't was one of the reasons she loved hanging out with her. When she was with Faith, she was in a different world. A different world then the one she shared with her friends, or family. It was Faith…it was Faith. She looked up at the girl, feeling something within her begin to churn; a question rumbling within her. Once again, she found herself wondering if she had made the right decision.

"I was just asking 'cause you guys' history," Faith continued, seeing that Buffy wasn't responding, "I mean, you have a lot to, um…I don't know, just so much history. So, I was just wondering, if maybe--after I said that we should be friends, if you went back to--"

"Faith," she said, sternly. Her world was spinning, blurring, and twisting. She didn't want her world--their world, to turn to that. She didn't want to think about Angel, or whether she made a mistake by not telling Faith that she wasn't sure about how she felt. Buffy wanted things to stay the way they were. Without tension, and confusion, just simple. The fact that Faith was asking about Angel, it was changing everything, and she wasn't sure she could handle that, "I just…I don't want to talk about that, okay? Angel is just not--I don't want to talk about that with you. It's weird."

"It's weird?" Faith said, frowning, "Weird how? All I was asking is if you and him were--"

"Just stop, okay? It's not a good subject, why can't you understand that?" she asked, angrily. Somewhere within it all, anger had found its way through her. She didn't know why, or how, but she was angry at Faith. Just looking at her; into those brown eyes, full of confusion, made her more angry, "I don't ask you about Kennedy, so don't ask me about Angel. It's none of your business," Faith looked away from her, "Look," she said, after taking a deep breath, "I'm just stressed, and I'm tired. This just isn't the time," she paused, "There's nothing going on with me and Angel. Nothing at all," she knew it wasn't true; that it was beyond a lie, but she couldn't tell Faith that her and Angel were getting closer, even if they knew that it wasn't the best idea. Something within her just couldn't bring herself to say it. Not to Faith.

"Hey," Buffy said, after a moment, "You mind if we call it quits tonight? We've got nothing so far."

"Um, I think I'm gonna keep lookin', but if you want to go home, that's fine."

"You sure?" she asked. Faith nodded, "Well, okay. We can take him out tomorrow. Same time?"

"Sure," she made her way across the street, in the opposite direction, and then turned around, "If I don't take him out myself," she said, with a grin. Once her back was turned, she smiled slightly. Despite the fact that Buffy went nuts, she now knew what she wanted to know; they weren't together. Something was obviously going on with the blonde slayer, but the fact still remained--they weren't together; there was nothing going on.

Buffy watched as Faith walked away, something within her telling her that she had just made a mistake. Not just by lying to Faith, but also not really working out the feelings she had for her. They were supposed to friends, and usually the friend package came with honesty, but not the kind she had with Faith. She didn't feel that she could talk to Faith about anything. She couldn't tell her that her and Angel were having problems with controlling themselves around each other, and that it was getting harder and harder to be around each other, because that would mean that her Faith were really just friends. Buffy wasn't sure she wanted that, "What am I doing?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith walked through the graveyard, still thinking about Buffy, and wondering when she would take the next step, and ask the girl out. Then a scream brought her back to reality. She started to run, hoping she'd get there in time to say whoever was getting hurt. Once she saw a big demon, holding a girl by the shirt, she grinned, "Looks like it's my lucky night," she said, as she ran up to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and punched him in the face when he turned around, dropping the girl to the ground, "Just stay down," she said, to the girl. Just as she turned her attention back to the demon, she found herself getting hit in the stomach. She blocked the punch meant for her face, ignoring the pain in her abdomen, and started to throw punches, but they were doing anything, whether they were blocked or not. Even her kicks were getting her nowhere. Then it grabbed her, and threw her into the side of a crypt. Once she hit the ground, she thought about how stupid she had been for not just grabbing the girl, and taking off, but the demon didn't turn his attention to the other girl, who was still lying on the ground. It went over to some cement headstone, that seemed to be some sort of container for something, and started to go through it, throwing out all sorts of fabrics behind him.

Faith looked over at the girl, she was young, with blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. She motioned for not to move, and mouthed that it would be okay. Luckily, she was right. Once the demon saw that what he wanted wasn't there, he turned away, angrily, and stomped off into the night.

The girl got up and went over to Faith, "Thanks, you just saved my life," she said, reaching out to help her up.

"Actually," Faith said, taking the girl's hand. Once she was up, she dusted herself off, and then put her hand on her sour stomach, "I just got my ass handed to me," she said, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, well, you still saved me. Are you okay?" she asked, "You're holding you stomach."

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You showed up just in time actually. I'm pretty sure that thing was about to rip my head off," she paused, "What exactly was that thing, anyways?"

Faith shook her head, "Uh, this really isn't--it was a demon," she said, honestly. Explaining to civilians wasn't really her thing, but she felt that there was no way she'd get out of the situation, seeing that the girl was attacked, "What were you doing out here this late?"

"Visiting a grave," the girl said, sarcastically, "Is there any other reason to be here?" she laughed, "I guess there is, seeing that you're here. I'm June, by the way," she said, putting her hand out.

"Faith," she said, shaking the girl's hand.

"Oh, that's why you look familiar," June said, with a smile, "I go to school with your sister."

"Wow. That's, uh--cool, I guess," she ran her fingers through her hair, "You know what, Kenn and I aren't really talking right now, so--"

"Right," she laughed, "Well, I figured. She stopped talking about you as much, but I--I can tell when she's thinking about you. She gets this look," Faith looked at her; a sadness lurking within her eyes, "Kinda like the one you've got now."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Xander pushed a branch aside, as he continued to follow Kennedy and Dawn through the cemetery, "So, why was it a good idea for the three people, without any super strength, or any other helpful talents, to go after the big bad demon?" he asked.

Dawn laughed, "Please, this was just a way for Kennedy here to get rid of her guilt."

"Wrong," Kennedy said, as she continued to look for the crypt, "First of all, I've been trained to fight, so I do have 'talents'," she said, sarcastically, "I just don't have the super strength. Not to mention that I'm an expert with guns and crossbows."

"None of which you brought," Xander added.

"Second," she said, glaring at Dawn over her shoulder, "I don't feel any sort of guilt whatsoever," she paused, "Willow kissed me, not the other way around, so I have nothing to feel guilty about."

Dawn rolled her eyes, "I swear that you guys are the most dysfunctional non-couple, in the world. First you don't get together, then you have a secret affair, and then you're not together again, but you're making out in libraries."

"No, 'we' weren't doing anything. She kissed me," she repeated.

"I didn't see you pushing her away," Dawn pointed out.

"You also didn't see me kissing her back," she spotted someone, "Hold on a sec," she said, ducking behind a tree. She saw the crypt, the one that they were looking or, door open, and a guy dressed in black come out. One that looked all too familiar, "Oh my god," she whispered.

Xander came up beside her, trying to get a better look, "Angel?"

"Oh, no," Dawn said, standing back. Of all the things that would happen, she hadn't expected for them to stumble onto Angel; her sister's biggest, most sacred secret.

"I can't believe this," Xander said, coldly, "This can't be happening. He's supposed to be--He can't be here."

"Well, he is," Kennedy said, standing up as Angel continued to walk. She knew where he was going, there was no question about it, "We'll stand here a second, and then follow him. See what he's up to, and if he's planning on using the glove for evil."

"You think he's evil?" Dawn asked, knowing the answer to the question. The last thing Kennedy had heard about Angel was that he was going around torturing people, and killing people. Then Xander--he experienced it first hand.

Xander looked at Dawn, "Yeah. He just happens to have the glove that we're looking for? What a coincidence."

"I'm thinking we find out before we make assumptions," Kennedy said, thinking rationally, "There's no way we can no whether he's evil or not, Xander, until we see what's going on. Despite what you want to believe, he might not be evil," she looked past the crypt, "Alright, let's go," she said, taking the lead.

"God Buffy, where are you?" Dawn asked, under her breath, as she followed Kennedy and Xander. Kennedy had been right, Angel was going to the mansion, and what they saw when they got there was not good. It wasn't anything horrific, no blood, no bodies, or anything like that. It was Buffy and Angel kissing.

"She's been keeping this from us," Xander said, angrily, "I can't believe she would be with him after everything that happened."

Kennedy shook her head, "She loves him. That's never going to change. Let's just hope that she knows what she's doing. Come on, let's go."

"That's it?" Xander asked, "You're just gonna hope and walk away?"

"Yeah, Xander," she stepped up to him, "I am, and so are you. This is none of our business."

"I'm with Kennedy on this," Dawn said.

"No, I'm not just going to hope for the best," he turned and walked away from the both of them, knowing exactly where he had to go; who he had to see. There was no way he was going to let Angel get the chance to hurt the people he loved ever again.

"This is so not good," Dawn said, watching the boy walk away.

Kennedy looked at Dawn, "You knew, didn't you?" Dawn nodded, "And so did my sister. That's just another thing she was hiding from me. I mean I knew she was hiding something, and that it had to do with Buffy, but I just hadn't suspected this. Obviously, if she knows, and hasn't tried to kill him, then he's fine. He's not evil."

"No, he's not," Dawn said, knowing that Kennedy was upset to find yet another thing Faith kept form her, "But you know, Faith didn't tell you because Buffy didn't want her to. It would stir things up around here if certain people, like Xander, found out."

"The problem is," she said, turning to leave the mansion, and head back, "she didn't trust that I wouldn't tell anyone."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy pulled away from Angel, breathing heavily, "Oh, God…" she said, panicking.

He reached out, "Buffy--" before he touched her, he realized that it wasn't a good idea, and pulled his hand back. Being too close was what started the whole problem, after all.

"What am I doing?" she took a couple steps back, "First I freak out on Faith, and then this. I don't even know why I came back here," she went to get her things, in a hurry to leave the mansion. After she and Faith had parted, for some reason she found herself at Angel's, which of course made her feel guilty, but once she was close to him, she completely lost herself in the moment. She almost let herself slip away from reality, but just as she was almost gone, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, something pulled her back. Why was she there? Why had she lied? What was going on with her? All of those questions swam up inside her, pulling her into her confusing world of emotions, "Why did I lie to her? I shouldn't have come here."

"Wait," Angel touched Buffy's arm, "It's a good thing you did," he led her over to where the glove was, "I think I have what you're looking for."

Seeing only something wrapped in a bunch of sheets, Buffy frowned, "Great. Just, wherever this was gift-wrapped, remind me not to shop there."

He unfolded the sheets, revealing a metal glove, with a spider like claw at one end, and cat like claws at the other, spikes covering the back of the hand portion, "The Glove of Mynhegon."

"The world's ugliest fashion accessory," she said, reaching out to touch it.

"No," Angel said, grabbing her hand, "Don't. Once you put it on, the glove can never be removed."

"So…no touching," she looked down at their hands, "Kind of like us," Angel pulled his hand away, "You hold on to it. I'll--I'll tell Giles in the morning. At least he'll be happy," she said, turning to leave.

"Wait. I-I," he looked at her, trying to clear his mind of the feeling he had while they had been kissing, "What did you lie to Faith about?" she looked down, "It's just that, I wanted to know if I was causing any problems with--Am I?"

"Angel," Buffy said, looking up at him, "Any problems that I'm having are really just my own. They have nothing to do with either one of you. I'll come get the glove tomorrow."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"So, uh, who died?" Faith asked, as she walked along side June. Since it was obvious that it wasn't safe for anyone to be out by themselves, Faith decided that she'd walk the girl home, just to make sure that nothing happened to her, especially since the girl was a friend of Kennedy's. The girl looked at her blankly, "You know, who's grave were you visiting?"

"Oh, my uncle. He died a while back," she said, with a sigh.

Faith nodded, "Were you close?"

"Um, sort of. He was kind of like a dad to me, but that was a long time ago. I hadn't seen him for a while, by the time I got word that he was dead," they walked for a bit, in silence, then she spoke again, "So do you do this a lot? The whole saving a girl's life, and then walking her home bit?"

"Not really," she answered, with a slight laugh, "Actually this is the first time."

"Well, it's been a privilege," June said, with a smile, "What were you doing out there, anyways?"

There had never been a time where she had to explain who she was to anyone, and really she had never thought to. Nothing about her life was ever anyone's business, but instead of giving an smart remark, she figured she'd take it easy, "Nothing. Just out wandering."

"Hmm. It must be nice to feel safe enough to walk around these parts, considering--" she looked over to Faith, who was looking at her as if she were confused, "Considering that there are demons wandering around. Not to mention all the other night time monsters here. I've been for a while," she said, looking ahead, "There are some things you just can't ignore forever. I just choose to live with it. I've let so many things stop me in life. Now I just take the risk, you know?"

Faith looked down, "Some risks just aren't worth taking. I mean, sometimes they're good in all, get your blood pumpin, that feeling that you get when it's all over, but sometimes--it's too risky. You goin' to graveyards at night; too risky."

"You're one to talk," June said, laughing, "I could've sworn you just said you were out wandering. This is my place," she said, stopping in the front yard of a small white house, in a quiet neighborhood, full of trees. She turned to face Faith, "How about I get you some ice for that," she said, noticing that Faith still had her hand on her stomach.

"No, thanks I'm good. It's--"

"Come on," June pleaded, "it's the least I can do, considering that you just saved my life. Whether your ass was handed to you are not. Blood is still pumping through my veins, so this is the least I can do for you," she lifted her eyebrows, "Not to mention the fact that I owe your sister a few favors."

"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't want you to waste them on me," she said, flatly, and she truly believed it. There was no way Kennedy would want her friend to help her out, or at least she wouldn't if she were Kennedy, not after what she had done, "I'm just gonna take off."

"No, we're going to get you some ice, and then you can take off," she folded her arms, "There's no way I'm letting you leave without the ice, so come on. Plus, you should make sure that you didn't really hurt yourself. My mom's a doctor, so I'm pretty handy in that department."

"Listen, kid, no offense, but I'm sure I'll live without the physical."

"God, you and your sister are so stubborn. Why can't you just accept someone's help, after you've helped them. I don't get it. After Kennedy helped me out with my crazy ex fiasco, and Willow thought me her were going out behind her back, I asked her if she wanted me to talk to Willow about it, and she wouldn't let me. That's probably why they didn't work it out."

"I'm pretty sure it was more than that," Faith said, knowingly.

"That's not my point. Both of you are missing the point. My point is, once you've helped someone, they're gonna want to return the favor. That's just how it works, so you can either except it this way, or I'll just have to do it my way."

"Oh really?" Faith asked, curiously, "What exactly do you think you can do, 'cause I'm pretty sure there's no way you can physically get me through that door," she said, gesturing towards the black door, "I'm pretty sure that if I wanted to walk away right now, I could simply walk away."

"You think?" June asked, with a smirk, "'Cause I'm thinking otherwise. I'm pretty clever."

"Clever ain't gonna get you no where, when it comes to me, sorry to tell ya," Faith said, returning the smirk.

"I doubt that," she lifted her hand, "but it really doesn't matter," just as Faith was about to give her comeback, June snapped her fingers, and they appeared inside a bathroom. Faith just stood there for a moment, looking around with a blank expression, which made June smile even bigger, "Told ya. I'm pretty clever."

"What the hell?" Faith looked at the girl, and then her world started to spin, and her knees went weak. Just as she started to fall, June grabbed her, and sat her down on top of the toilet seat.

"Sorry about the after effects. My magic is kind of advanced," she went over to the sink, and opened the mirror up, pulling a small first aid kit out of it, "Just incase an ace bandage is needed," she said, with a smile. She turned to Faith, who was just staring at her, "You just gonna sit there staring?"

"Kinda the only thing I can do right now," Faith said, truthfully. She was still blown away by what the girl had done; still confused; and still a bit woozy, "So you're a witch, right?" she asked, hoping that the girl wasn't some sort of demon.

June turned back towards the mirror, and closed it, "Well, that's not fair," she said, as she kneeled down in front of Faith, "If you ask me a question, I'll be honest, but when I ask you a question--" she reached for Faith's shirt, but the girl pulled back. After giving her a stern look, Faith let her lift it up a bit, "But when I ask you," she started again, "you lie," she looked at the bruise, "Well, that looks pretty bad. I think he might of caught a rib, too," she said, with a sigh. Then she looked up into Faith's eyes, "But I'm sure your slayer healing will clear it up in no time."

"How do you know I'm a slayer?" Faith asked, cautiously, getting herself prepared for things to go wrong.

June smiled, and went back to looking at the bruise, "You don't have to worry, I'm not going to attack you," she pulled out the ace bandage, "Sit up a bit," the girl didn't move, "Please," she said, with a smile. Faith sat up, "Thank you. I could tell, when your stomach muscles tensed up, that you were getting a little worried. Ready to fight if it came to it, but lucky for the both of us, I'm not out to get you."

"What are you out to get, then?" something clicked in her head, and she started to stand up instantly, "Have you been lying to me the whole time, 'cause I swear to god, I will take your fucking head off if you have. You have no clue who you're messing with."

"No, I don't, because I'm not your enemy," she looked into Faith's eyes, sincerely, "Look, I only know that you're a slayer, because of the way you didn't end up dead at the graveyard. Before you showed up, I was just going to teleport out of there, but when you got there, I figured I was going to have to save you too. When you started fighting, and you didn't get crushed instantly, I figured you had to be a slayer. Now, I'm sure you're wondering how I know what a slayer is?"

"Yeah," Faith said, still on guard.

"The same way I know what a witch is, and the same way I know how to use my power; my uncle. He was a warlock. He used to study all of the aspects of the supernatural universe, and he taught me everything he knew, before he was murdered for knowing too much. That's how I knew you were a slayer, and how I know Buffy Summers is one too. She's more commonly known in my world…along with Angelus, the vampire with a soul, who she fell in love with. Now, please, let me help with that," she said, indicating towards, Faith's bruise. Faith relaxed, and just took her shirt off, "Okay stand up, so can wrap it tight," she began to wrap it around the slayers torso, careful to make sure it was just right.

"So what, you just go around pretending to be some normal girl, while you know about all of the chaos surrounding you? You don't try to help?" Faith asked, curiously. Even though she didn't really, completely, trust the girl, she wanted to know how the girl lived her life. It was weird to find someone with power, who didn't want to use it for anything.

"Pretty much--breath normally," she said, noticing that Faith had started to breath slower, "You don't want me to end up causing more damage then you've already got. Anyways, uh, yeah. I mean, I am pretty much, a normal girl. I'm human. The only difference is that I'm a pretty high leveled witch to be so young. But when you're a witch, raised by a powerful warlock," she finished up, and stood up straight in front of Faith, "I guess that's to be expected. All done."

"Thanks," Faith said, putting her shirt back on.

"No problem," she started to put everything back in its place, "Tell your sister hi, when you go tell Buffy and her friends about the demon encounter. I haven't seen her much since she got back in town from seeing you guys' dad."

Faith laughed, "I won't be going anywhere near my sister. She told me to stay away, and that's what I plan to do. I don't get to just pop up whenever I want."

"Hmm, well, is there anything you want me to tell her, 'cause I can go tell them about the whole demon thing. I'm sure they need to know the latest on him."

"No, that's okay," Faith said, sadly, "Thanks though."

June opened the bathroom door, "No problem. Come on, I'll walk you out," she said, leading her through the house, "Hey Mom," she yelled, as they walked by the kitchen.

The woman, who had dirty blonde hair, and hazel eyes, poked her head out of the kitchen, "Hey, no magic at night. I want to be able to trust that you don't just teleport out of the house at night," she saw that her daughter wasn't alone, and walked over to them, ignoring the fact that she only had a long t-shirt on, "I wasn't aware of the fact that you had company. Now I have to wonder about you sneaking people into the house. Hi," she said, sticking her hand out, "I'm Catherine."

"Faith," she said, shaking the woman's hand.

"Well, okay Mom," June said, giving her mom a look, "I'm just walking her out. I'll be right back in, I promise."

"Okay," the woman said, returning the look she was receiving, "You better. It was nice to meet you Faith."

"Yeah, you too," she said, as she followed June outside. Once they were out there, and June had closed the door, Faith turned to look at her, "Thanks again," she said, sincerely, "It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," she watched as Faith walked across her yard, and then took a deep breath, "Hey," she called, getting the girl's attention, and staying in her place, "You, uh, want to hang out some time?"

Faith laughed, taken back by the girl's boldness, "How old are you?" she asked, sarcastically. She turned to keep walking, "Bye June."

"Bye," the girl, said, with a smile. Once Faith was out of sight, she walked back into her house, and headed up the stairs.

Catherine came to the bottom of the stairs, watching her daughter go up, "You're talking to slayers now? I thought you'd wait a bit longer, but I guess you're just going for it. Seems to be going well."

"Please," June said, coldly, "I'm just getting started."

The woman smiled, "That's my girl."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Ah! Yes," Giles exclaimed, sitting at his desk at home, finally finding the page he had been looking for, "There we are. There's a wood engraving. See?" he asked, lifting the book for a moment, to let Gwendolyn see. Then he put it back in front of him, "The Glove of Myhnegon."

"Yes," Gwendolyn said, as she walked behind him, "engraved by Father Theodore of Wolsham."

"Yes," Giles said, simply.

"Based, I believe, on very sketchy and unreliable Folk legends," she paused, and looked at him, "The pictures are fun to look at, Mr. Giles, but one really ought to read the nice words as well," she said, snidely.

"Ah…yes," he closed the book, knowing full well that she had intentionally insulted him, and got up from his desk, heading towards the kitchen, "Some tea, perhaps?" he asked, politely; unwilling to stoop to her level, and reply angrily, or rudely.

She sat down on one of the stools in front of the man's bar, and watched him as he prepared the tea, "I know that you must find me tiresome, but it's insidious, really. A person slips up on the little things, and soon everything has gone to hell in a hand basket. For example...Buffy, your slayer--"

"Mrs. Post…" Giles interrupted, pouring the woman some tea as he did, "I can assure you that Buffy is both dedicated and industrious, and I am in complete control of my slayer."

"Giles!" Xander said, busting into the man's home, "We have a big problem. It's Buffy."

Giles sighed, and looked at Gwendolyn, feeling that his argument had been defeated, "Will you excuse us?" he said, politely, as he walked over to Xander, on the other side of the room.

Gwendolyn, still seated at the bar, looked over her shoulder at the two of them talking, "Would you like some assistance?" she asked.

The man turned slightly, "Thank you. That won't be necessary," he knew for sure that, at the moment, it was obvious that he had absolutely no control of Buffy, because the secret that she had kept from him was something that never should have been kept. The thing that had tortured him, and killed the woman he loved, was still alive.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy walked into the library, swinging her small purse happily, "Lagos is out of luck," she said, looking at all of her friends, minus Faith, and her sister, who shouldn't have been there, "I got the magic mitten thingy," she slowed her pace, noticing the serious tension in the room, and the awkward silence, "What's with all the tragedy masks?"

"Buffy," Giles said, standing beside Willow, "You'd better take a seat."

Xander got up, and pushed his seat closer to Buffy, so she could sit at the head of the table, "What's going on?" she asked, still looking at everyone. Xander, Kennedy, and Giles were all standing, while Cordelia, Willow, Dawn, and Oz were sitting down.

"They know," Dawn said, quietly, "About Angel."

Giles looked over at the girl, "You knew?"

"She knows?" Willow asked, looking at Buffy.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, and completely shocked, she couldn't help but try to distract them off of the topic, "Why aren't you at school?" she asked, looking directly at her sister.

Dawn shrugged, "I had a doctors appointment. Mom went back to work, after some slight convincing," she added, "so here I am, and trust me--" she said, with a knowing look, "I'm needed."

"Does Mom know that you're skipping?" Buffy asked, not buying her sister's story.

"How 'bout we keep that between us, and I won't tell her that you sneak off to see your ex every night," the girl suggested, with a fake smile.

Buffy folded her arms, "How are you needed again?"

"Support," Dawn said, simply.

"I'm thinking not," the slayer said, glaring at her younger sister.

The library doors opened, and the room went silent, as all eyes turned in that direction to see a girl walk in, with books in hand. Giles walked over to her, trying to lessen the serious look on his face, "June," he said, with a slight smile, "Have you come to return your books already?"

"Someone actually checks out books here?" Buffy asked, with a frown, but once she saw that her group of friends were still giving her the serious eye, she knew that there was no way escaping her situation. Her secret was out, and whether she wanted to face it or not, really didn't matter, because they wanted answers, and then wanted them right at that moment. In her mind, she knew that she wouldn't get out of it, from the very moment that she changed the subject she knew, but her mind couldn't handle what was happening. Especially with everything else that was already going on with Angel, and Faith. There was no room for any more chaos.

"Hey, you," Kennedy said, to June, "I know you haven't finished that book already."

Willow looked in between the two of them, not liking the friendly smiles that were being exchanged. It was bad enough that Kennedy had kissed the girl, while they had there thing going on, but having to see that they were still talking at all, made her want to stand up and yell at Kennedy. She knew she had no right to, and that she didn't know if they were just friends--or more--but in her heart, she once again felt the pain from the day she had seen the two of them kiss.

"Hey, June," Dawn said, waving with a huge smile on her face, "You probably don't remember me--"

"No," June said, cutting the girl off, "Of course I do. You're Dawn, as in the dawn. How are you?"

"I'm good," she answered, with a smile, "How are you?"

June nodded slightly, keeping the smile on her face, "I'm okay."

"Is it just me, or is she flirting with my sister?" Buffy asked, turning to Willow. Unfortunately, Willow hadn't heard a word she had said, because she was too busy giving June the evil eye. The funny thing was that she was pretty sure the redhead didn't realize what she was doing. There was no way Willow would give anyone the evil eye, "Did she even have an evil eye, before?" Buffy wondered.

"Actually," June said, lifting the book, "I am done with it, thank you," she said, with an accomplished grin. Then she looked more serious, "But that's not why I'm here."

"If you're here to ask if you could buy me lunch, I'm gonna have to ask for a rain check," Kennedy said, jokingly.

"Sorry Kenny, not feeding you today," June said, imitating the girl's tone.

Willow didn't like the flirting that she was seeing, and wasn't going to sit and listen to any more of it, "We're kind of doing something right now," she said, somewhat aggressively.

Buffy raised her eyebrows, "Whoa, Will, there's no rush."

"Actually there is," Giles said, giving the slayer a look that made her sink in her chair. He turned back to June, "What is it that you need then?"

"Um," she walked closer to the table, looking directly at Kennedy as she did, "I don't really need anything," she looked over at Willow, who looked like she wanted to rip her a new one, and then saw Oz reach out and put his hand on Willow's. At that moment, she was slightly distracted, thinking of how naïve the boy was, but then she remembered what she was there to do, and it had nothing to do with Willow. She turned back to Kennedy, who was looking at her worriedly, "There's nothing wrong, or at least I hope not. I ran into your sister, yesterday night--she got hurt."

Buffy shot up in her chair, "How bad is it?" she asked, before Kennedy could even begin to speak.

"Funny how think about your friends' lives now," Xander said, angrily, "Because you obviously weren't thinking about them when you decided not to tell us about Angel--or when you just didn't take care of him to prevent him from ever getting the chance to--"

"Xander," Giles said, cutting the boy off, "Not now. June, is Faith okay?"

"She'll be fine, I think she just cracked a few ribs. Last night, I was at the cemetery, and I got attacked by, what turned out to be a demon, to my surprise and ultimate nightmare experience--Lagos, I think is what she said--Anyways, she tried to take care of him, by herself, and she got a little banged up."

"Now she's trying to commit suicide," Kennedy said, angrily, as she began to pace, "Going to fight a demon like that alone. What was she thinking?"

Buffy stood up, "You don't know what's going on with Faith, you won't even talk to her, so you don't get to say stuff like that," she said, defensively. What she really wanted to say was that it was her fault that Faith had been alone. She was the one that let the other slayer patrol the rest of the night; it was her fault that Faith got hurt.

"I can say whatever the hell I want, because of the fact that we're not talking," Kennedy yelled, "You need to stay out of it. The moment you decided to choose Angel over my sister was the moment that you should have started to mind your own business."

"Suddenly you care?" Buffy asked, angrily.

"Why wouldn't she?" Willow asked, confused, "Why aren't they talking?"

Dawn looked to Kennedy, who had stopped dead in her tracks, "You didn't tell her?"

Cordelia leaned forward, "Okay, I've kept my silence since we got in here, but I'm done. What the hell is up with all these secrets being kept. Are Xander and I the only ones not lying to everyone?" she asked.

"I don't know, why don't you ask your boyfriend here?" Kennedy said, knowing exactly what Xander was hiding from his girlfriend, "How about it Xander, got any secrets you want to get out, before you start judging everyone else, like you're judging Buffy?"

"I'm gonna need you to mind your own business. Why are you even here?" he asked, putting his hands up, "What does any of this really have to do with you, other than the fact that you happened to be the one to stumble upon Buffy's ex lover."

"Look, I didn't mean to cause any trouble," June said, noticing that everything was getting a little out of control.

"Well, you did," Willow said, angrily.

Oz squeezed his girlfriends hand, "Willow, what's up with you?"

"Nothing. It's--It's just that we had something we were doing here, and now it's all getting out of hand."

"Doesn't it always?" Dawn mumbled.

"I just wanted to tell you what happened last night," June said, defending herself, "I didn't cause any of this other crap that's going on, and you know that. Last night, Faith saved my life, and I told her that I'd give you guys an update, 'cause she didn't want to overstep a boundary. It's not my fault that all of you have communication issues. You want to know why Kennedy and Faith aren't talking. I want to know how you haven't noticed it until now," she said, looking directly at the redhead.

"I can tell you why," Kennedy said, giving June a look, "Because it's none of her business. It's no one's business," she added, looking towards Buffy.

"Why can't you just talk to her?" Buffy asked, "I know what she did was wrong, but she feels really bad about all of it."

"She shouldn't have done it," Dawn said, knowing full well what happened.

"You know about this too?" Willow asked, but Dawn just looked down, "What happened? Somebody just tell me. We mine as well get all the secrets out now, 'cause they're just driving all of us crazy."

"You sure you want to do that?" Kennedy asked, knowing that Willow was just spurting words.

Giles walked over to all of them, "It really isn't the time."

"I think it's the perfect time," Xander said, folding his arms.

Cordelia sat back in her chair, and folded her arms as well, "Let's start with this whole Faith thing. What did she do?"

"Nothing," Kennedy said, upset by the fact that they hadn't dropped it.

"She slept with Rachel," June said, knowing that it was the perfect time. Kennedy just stared at her, like she had been betrayed, "What's so bad about them knowing? You didn't do anything wrong, so why hide it?"

Kennedy looked down, "You know why, and I can't believe you just did that."

Willow looked over at Kennedy, "She slept with Rachel, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's none of your business," she yelled.

"Don't yell at her," Oz said, trying to keep his cool.

Willow continued to look at Kennedy, "Was it after--or before?"

"Just leave it alone, Will," Kennedy said, knowing what Willow was wanting to know, "There's no reason to get into all of that drama. Faith slept with Rachel, so what? I just won't have anything to do with either one of them."

"And that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Buffy commented.

"No, what's stupid is that you have been lying to us," Xander said, still wanting to get back to Buffy's ordeal.

Deciding to drop the subject of Faith, Willow looked at her best friend, "Nobody's here to blame you, Buffy--"

"Except for Xander," Kennedy said, glaring at him.

"But this is serious," Willow continued, "You need help."

Buffy looked at all of the people in the room, including June, who knew nothing, "It's not what you think."

"Hope not. Because I think you're harboring a…" he looked at June, and then back at Buffy, "vicious you know what."

"Should I go, 'cause…?" June looked over at Kennedy, who gave her look that she knew meant, don't go anywhere, "Or not," she said, nodding.

"This isn't about attacking Buffy," Willow said, not wanting Xander to completely let loose the blame, "Remember, 'I' statements only--'I feel angry', 'I feel worried'."

"Fine," Cordelia said, loudly, "Here's one--I feel worried…about me."

Dawn laughed, "What else is new?"

"Shut it twerp," Cordelia shot, "Last time around, Angel barely laid a hand on Buffy. He was more interested in--you know--all of her friends."

"But he's better now," Buffy said, hoping to get them to understand.

"Just think of Angel as a drug addict," Dawn said, to June, "Since you've been forbidden to leave."

"Will do," June said, thankful to the girl.

"Better for how long, Buff?" Xander asked, "I mean, did you even think about that?"

"What is this, Demons Anonymous?" Buffy asked, "I don't need an intervention, here."

June went to stand by Dawn, leaning down towards here, "Wait, who's a demon?"

Dawn shrugged, "They're all monsters, in their own way. Buffy with her emotional toying," she said, while Buffy and Xander continued to argue, "Xander with his secret love for Willow. Willow with her thing with Kennedy. Cordelia--well, she's just a bitch. Kennedy with her act that she's putting on."

"And Oz?" June asked.

"He won't move out of the way," Dawn said, looking at him, "He won't let love have its way."

"And you?" June asked.

Dawn smiled, "I just sit back and watch everything happen…I guess that kind of makes me the worst one of them all."

June shook her head, "Or the smartest."

"I'm not going to--We're not together like that," Buffy said, after Xander commented on the possibility of her giving Angel another 'happy'.

"But you were kissing him," Oz put forth.

"You were spying on me?" Buffy asked, hurt by her friend's actions, "What gives you the right?"

"What gives you the right to suck face with your--you know--lover, again?" he shot back.

"It was an accident," Buffy said, honestly. She hadn't meant for it to happen at all, but in the back of her head, she knew she had basically been asking for it. It was her that went there almost every night; it was her that let them get so close; it was her that always ran away from her feelings.

"What, you just tripped and fell on his lips?"

Buffy stood for a moment, looking to the ground, then she looked back up at Xander, "It was wrong, Okay?" she said, with desperation, "I know that, and I know that it can't happen again. But you guys have to believe me. I would never put you in any danger. If I thought for a second that Angel was going to hurt anyone…"

"…You would stop him," Xander finished, "like you did last time, with Ms. Calendar."

"Whoa," Kennedy said, looking at Xander harshly, after seeing the sadness pour over Buffy's face, as well as Giles, "You guys aren't being fair here," she said, walking over to stand next to Buffy, who was silent, "The one time Faith should be here, so outsiders could help you see more clearly, she's not, so I'm just going to have to do this for the both of us."

"You really think Faith, Ms.-want-to-kill-all-demons-just-for-the-rush, would back her up on this?" Xander asked.

"I'm thinking, I know my sister better than you," she said, standing her ground.

He laughed, "Funny, 'cause I doubt you were saying that once you found about her thing with your ex."

Kennedy stepped up to him, looking him directly in the eyes, "Be glad," she said, coldly, "That I'm only here to help 'your friend' here, 'cause if this was about me, and you were attacking me like this--let's just say you wouldn't have to worry about the ex because I'd take you down for her," she walked away from him and back over to Buffy, turning to look at everyone in the room, "Now, I don't know if any of you have ever been in love, but if you had, you'd get that…that you never want to see the bad in the person you love. You always look to the good first. You don't want to picture them any other way. Then they'd be a different person, someone you don't know," she folded her arms, "You guys aren't being fair," she said, again.

"Excuse me," Cordelia said, lifting her hand, "You weren't here to see Angel go back to his old ways, so you don't get to say a word here."

"But she's right," June declared, getting everyone's attention, "When you love someone you always only look at the good in them. Anything else--could ruin it all."

"Buffy," Willow said, in a quiet voice, "I feel that when it comes to Angel, you can't see straight. And that's why we're--we're all going to help you."

Kennedy huffed, "And what the hell could you possibly do, Will? You can't force her to stop loving him. You, of all people, should get that."

Oz frowned, "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, no longer wanting to sit by why secret remarks are being exchanged; purposely keeping him in the dark.

"Nothing," Kennedy said, knowing that she had said too much already, "I'm just saying--you love who you love."

"Look guys, he's better now. I swear. He's the one who found the Glove of Myhnegon," she said, hoping to shed some light on the ordeal, "He's keeping it safe for us in the mansion."

"Right! Great Plan. Leave tons of firepower with a scary guy, and leave us to clean up the mess," Xander said, turning to storm out of the room.

Buffy grabbed the boy's arm, and turned him around, "You would just love an ex se to hurt him, wouldn't you?"

He pulled his arm away, and leaned closer to her, trying to prevent June from hearing his next words, because despite the fact that he was furious, he knew that bringing in some unknowing outsider was not a good idea, "I don't need an excuse," he whispered, "I think losts of dead people actually constitutes a reason."

"Right. This is all nobility. This has nothing to do with jealousy."

Cordelia gasped, "Hello? Miss Not-Over-Yourself-Yet?"

Buffy turned towards the girl, fire in her eyes, "Don't you start with me."

"Giles," Willow said, worried, "no one's doing the 'I' statements."

"That's enough! Everybody," Giles said, walking to the head of the group, "Now Buffy knows our concerns and her actions, however ill-advised, can be understood. Our…priority right now is to retrieve the Glove of Myhnegon and try to destroy it. Now all of you, back to classes," he said, walking into his office.

Buffy watched the old man, as the others began to gather their stuff, and then looked at her sister, "Dawn, can you--?"

"I've got her," Kennedy said, picking up her backpack. Buffy walked into Giles office, leaving her, Dawn, and June alone in the library, "Come on Dawnie, I'll get you some lunch."

"Cool," Dawn said, getting up.

June walked over to Kennedy, cutting her off, "You know I didn't mean anything by--"

"I know what you were doing," she sighed, "And I've already told you that I don't need your help with Willow. It's over, and that's fine. Just leave it," she said, starting to go around the girl, but June cut her off again, "What now?"

"I just--I just have a quick question, 'cause I want to give her an update," Kennedy looked at her, seeming to have a slight warning in her eyes, "Where does Faith stay?"

Buffy walked into Giles office, to see him standing in front of his desk, with his back turned to her, "Thanks for the bail in there," she said, exhaling deeply, "I know this is a lot to absorb, but Angel did find the glove, and that was a good--"

"Be quiet," he said, in a flat tone, without turning towards her, "I won't remind you that the fate of the world often lies with the slayer. What would be the point?" he asked, turning to her, "Nor shall I remind you that you've jeopardized the lives of all that you hold dear by harboring a known murder. But sadly, I must remind you that Angel tortured me…for hours…for pleasure. You should have told me he was alive. You didn't. you have no respect for me or the job I perform."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Gwendolyn knocked on Faith's motel room door, shocked when Faith swung it open, with stake in hand, lifted an ready to be launched, "A word of advice," the woman said, after Faith had relaxed, as she closed the door behind her, "Vampires rarely knock. Especially in daylight," she said, with a slight smile.

"Oh, right," Faith said, walking over to her bed, and throwing the stake on it.

The woman began to look around, "So this is your home," she said.

"Yeah. The decorator actually just left," the slayer said, sarcastically, as she watched the woman.

"Faith," the woman walked by the girl, going to lean on her dresser, "do you know who the Spartans were?"

Faith huffed, and sat down on her bed, tucking one of her legs underneath her, "Wild stab. A bunch of guys from Spart?"

Gwendolyn smiled, knowing the girl was being a smart-aleck , "They were the fiercest warriors known to ancient Greece. And they lived in quarters very much like these. Do you know why?" Faith just shrugged, "Becaue a true fighter needs nothing else," knowing that that caught the girl's attention, she got to the more important subject, as she walked to stand in front of her, "I'm going to be very hard on you, Faith," she said, watching the girl play with a knife in her hands, "I will not brook insolence or laziness. And I will not allow blunders like last night's attack."

"I didn't have to tell you about that," Faith thought, "I sure as hell didn't tell you about June though. Not gonna ruin that kids life by letting a bunch of tight-asses council guys but in to her life. Nothing good ever comes of it."

"You will probably take me a great deal of the time," Gwendolyn went on.

"You think?"

She sat down next to the girl, "But I will make you a better slayer, and that will keep you alive. You have to trust that I am right. God only knows what Mr. Giles has been filling your head with," she said, standing back up.

"Giles is okay," Faith said, sincerely.

"His methods are unfathomable to me. I find him entirely confounding. But that is not important," she shook her head, "Let him have his games and secret meetings."

Faith's head popped up, from looking at the knife, "What meetings?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Something with Buffy and her friends," the woman said, with a shrug.

Faith nodded, "Oh, right. I guess that doesn't include me at the moment. Since Kenn is probably there," she added.

"Yes, I do believe your sister is there, actually."

"Yeah, well, we're not exactly talking much these days. And by much, I mean 'not at all'. Stuff happens," she said, with a shrug, turning her attention back to her knife.

"And why does he let her socialize so much? It hardly seems…No matter. Would you like to do some training?" she asked, happily.

Faith stood up, wanting to release some tension. She knew that she wouldn't be included in much of the Scooby stuff, but when it came to taking down demons that were a big deal, she thought Buffy would keep her around so they'd be able to take care of it. Kennedy, or not, "Training. As in kicking and punching and stabbing?"

"Yes, that's the idea," the woman said.

"I'm your girl," Faith said, about to get herself a jacket, but before she could, there was another knock at the door, "Who in the hell," she mumbled, gripping her knife. She swung the door open, "June."

"Hey, Faith. You mind if I--" she noticed that there was a woman inside, "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just dropped by. I'll just talk to you later."

Faith watched as the girl turned to walk away, something within her telling her to stop her. It wasn't that she didn't want to train. No, it had been accomplished already that she needed a good stress reliever, but she didn't want to let the girl just leave. It could have been because, in her mind, she knew the girl had something to tell her; that there could be a good reason for the random drop by, and that trumped training. There was always time to train, "Sorry," she said, turning to Gwendolyn, "Mind if we reschedule?"

Gwendolyn clasped her hand together, "Very well then, I'll see you later," she said, walking out.

"Hey June," Faith called. The girl turned around, "Come on. She's leaving."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn took a bite of her sandwich, looking at Kennedy as she did. The girl had been very silent since they had left the library, and Dawn found it hard to believe that it was just because of the fact that her secret was revealed. She was convinced that Kennedy had been hiding things for a while; keeping her distance from everyone she had grown close to--which included Dawn herself.

"Okay," she said, wiping her mouth, "What's going on with you? I mean, first you leave town, then you come back acting like--well, your old self, but with rudeness, and now you're just completely opposite of anything I've ever seen you be. First thing, silence has never been one of the things that comes with your package of personality. Though sometimes you should have considered it. Like when you decided to start yelling earlier, for example."

Kennedy took a sip of her drink, put her elbow on the table, and propped her self up, "What are you asking me, again? I got lost in all of the insults."

"Ha ha ha," Dawn said, rolling her eyes, "You've still got the sarcasm. But don't think that's going to get you out of this. What's going on with you. Ever since you got back, you've been kind of off--in a non-insulting way. I mean, you're never at home, and you hardly go to school."

"Says the girl that skips to be nosey."

"No, says the girl that knew her sister needed her. Whether she seemed to be helpful or not," she thought about how her sister had first tried to use her as a distraction; immediately cutting to asking her why she wasn't at school. It was obvious from that moment, that Buffy wanted to just run. That she wanted to escape from all the drama in her life, and so of course she went along with it. She wasn't up for watching her sister get yelled at, but in the end, she knew there was nothing she could do about it, "With what just happened back there, if it were me, I would have needed a lot more."

"I know," Kennedy said, sitting up right, and shaking her head, "Fucking Xander, and his lack of brainpower. He didn't even try to understand. I get that I wasn't here when Angel was all with the torture, and Xander was, but that doesn't really give him the right to be such a prick to Buffy. If Faith would have been there--"

"You keep bringing her up," Dawn interjected. Kennedy looked at her, looking slightly confused, "You brought her up when you made your whole 'love' speech earlier. How the outsiders could show a different perspective, or whatever."

Kennedy laughed, "Don't act like you weren't really listening. You are always listening, even when you shouldn't be," she said, with a smile. Then her face went blank for a moment, before a shade of strange emotion covered it, "I know that I've brought her up every time I've mentioned the whole Buffy situation, but I can't help it. Me standing up for Buffy doesn't really help her, you know? Yeah, it might push some info through Xander's thick head, and get Cordelia to shut it for a minute, but it doesn't help her personally, because I don't care about her the way Faith does. If she would have had some that cared about her like that, she wouldn't have cracked so easily."

"No, Faith would have just punched Xander's lights out before he got that far," Dawn said, knowing it was true, "The thing is, Buffy and Faith--they're just so--"

"Meant for each other," Kennedy finished, "They both have the most horrible way of dealing with their feelings--"

"Or not dealing with them," Dawn added.

"Yeah. And the whole slaying thing being more important than anything else. The constant trying to keep distance with everyone around them, even when they're with them. Let's not forget the bad decision making skills."

Dawn laughed, "Oh, please don't. Buffy has so got her head in the clouds right now. I don't even think she knows what she's doing, herself. I know I told her to follow her heart, but--certain things just can't work in the end. Not being able to have sex with Angel is clearly going to 'cause problems eventually," Kennedy gave her a look, "What? It would."

Kennedy rolled her eyes, "And not letting go of past anger, really isn't going to help--And yes, I know I'm the one to talk," she said, knowing that Dawn would make a remark, if she didn't, "Then again, Faith's already done that," she took a swallow of her drink, "I don't know how she did it. No, I do know how, but I don't know why really. If someone would have done to me, what Buffy did to her, I don't think I could just forgiven them. Mistake or not, it doesn't mean I want to be best friends with you afterwards."

"Even that isn't going well. Like those two could possibly just be friends. They can either not talk at all, or be together, but nothing in between. Not when they are around each other the way that they are. Or were around each other, seeing that Buffy's always with Angel. That one's really not working either, though. It's pretty much like the whole Faith situation. Except they could have sex."

"Yuck," Kennedy said, groaning.

"My thoughts exactly," she laughed, "But I really think that Faith chose the whole, let's be friends thing, and Buffy agreed to it, 'cause they can't really picture living without the other. At least that's how it seems, from what Buffy told me. Even with all that happened, Faith wanted her to be around, and she wanted Faith to be around. It's like they're in a completely different world when they're together. A world that seems like it can't be touched by the outside world--but when it is--That's when things go horribly wrong. Then, you know what they do?"

"What?" Kennedy asked, letting herself just fall into what they were talking about. It had been a while since she completely let herself just breathe really, and so it was strange, but she let herself give in, and let part of her anger fade.

"They turn to each other," Dawn said, softly, "When that stops happening--When those two can't go to each other to talk about relationship problems, family problems, or just hang out, that's when things have really gotten bad. When that trust that the other one will make things okay again, fades," she looked down, thinking about the night that she saw Buffy comforting Faith in the street the night, she later found out to be, the night Kennedy had found about the whole Rachel situation. She could see the tears streaming down Faith's face, and Buffy was just holding her. Doing the only thing she could think to do to make her feel better. That brought her back to Kennedy's situation, "How about you? Are you really okay with everything going on right now?"

"Honestly?" Kennedy asked, getting a guaranteed yes from Dawn, "I am. I know that might be surprising, but it's true."

"Really?" Dawn asked, finding it hard to believe, "How? Everything that's happened over the past few months should have you banging your head against a wall. How in the world can you possibly be okay?"

"It's like this huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, you know. I mean, I love Faith, and I always will, but now I don't have to worry about the next time she's going to take off, and who's going to make sure that she takes care of herself. It's not my responsibility anymore. It never should have been my responsibility in the first place, but now I feel that it's not at all. With Rachel, now I don't have to feel so guilty about not being able to love her after everything that she's done for me. I really think that the both of us having some time apart is the best thing. I want her to find someone that can really cherish what a great person she is, and I can't do that. I've tried and tried, and it just doesn't work. Now I won't feel so obligated. When it comes to Willow," she took a deep breath, "No more lying. No more secrets. No more hiding. Oz, despite the fact that he annoys the crap out of me a lot these days, doesn't deserve that, and I'm not good enough for her."

"Kennedy--" Dawn said, sympathetically.

"I don't mean that in the way it sounds. What I'm saying is that I can't love her the way Oz does. At least not right now. She wants all of me, and I can't give all of that away…plus she was turning into someone she didn't recognize, because of all the lying, and I don't want her to have to deal with that kind of stuff. No one should become a completely different person for someone else. If they really love you, it's for who you are at that moment, not who you'll become. Then, they're just in love with the idea of you."

Dawn smiled, "I knew it," she said, looking the other girl in the eyes, "I knew you were in there somewhere."

"Right now, you're the only one that gets to see that," she stood up, "Come on, let's go home."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"So, what's up?" Faith asked, as she closed the door. She watched as June sort of wandered around the room, seeming somewhat uncomfortable, and unsure of herself, "You can sit," she offered. The girl sat down, and Faith walked over and put her knife down on the dresser, not wanting to scare June with her nervous tendency to play with sharp objects, "How'd you find me?"

"I asked Kennedy," she crossed her legs, "She was a little hesitant to tell me at first, due to the fact that the surprise of me showing up during this weird gathering that they were having, which mostly consisted of all of them yelling."

Faith frowned, "You were at the secret meeting?"

"I wasn't aware of what was going on, so I went to the library, figuring that Buffy would be there, so I could tell her about last night. It kind of went in a different direction after I told them, with lots of yelling interruptions from Buffy and your sister. Then Willow was giving me some attitude, which I did not appreciate," she rolled her eyes, "After that, they all pretty much went into criticizing Buffy. Especially Xander. He was being a complete asshole."

"What do you mean?" she sat down on the bed next to June, making sure to put some space in between them, consider the fact that the girl had basically asked her out the day before, "Why would they be ridin' Buffy, like that?"

"Somehow, they found out about Angel," for a moment, she paused, considering whether to tell the whole story, "Let's just say they weren't to happy about it," she said, cutting to the chase.

"Great," Faith took a deep breath, "That's what happens when you have friends. They get all in your business, and then judge you while they're at it. I wouldn't just stay and listen to all of them talk crap like that. What's the point?"

"Well, Willow wasn't really gaining up on her. She was actually trying to talk it out, and explain why she was worried about Buffy just trusting Angel again. Then Dawn was there…but she wasn't really helping. Other than by being there, of course. It was mostly Xander and Cordelia that were doing all of the judging. Oz was kind of just sitting there, wondering what the hell was going on with Willow, and Kennedy--She completely stood up for Buffy. She even mentioned that if you would have been there, you wouldn't have stood for any of it happening, and that you would have been more understanding than all of them--minus Dawn--" she looked at Faith, trying to read any sort of expression to give her a hind of what the girl was thinking, but she already knew what was going on. She knew everything, "I'm assuming that Kennedy said that because you already knew that Angel was alive. Am I right?"

Faith swallowed hard, "I might of known something," she got up, "But it doesn't matter. I wasn't there," she turned away from the girl, hiding her face, "Kenn really said that stuff?"

"Yeah, she did," June said, knowing what Faith was wanting to hear, "She knows that you care about Buffy. They all know, and I agree with Kennedy. If you would have been there, things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand. You seem like the defensive type," she thought about the fact that Oz had said Buffy had kissed Angel, and how that information would affect Faith. Was it really the right time to unleash such harmful information, or was it better to wait a while, let the emotions really get stirred up, and then tell her, "So," she said, taking small steps in her mind, "Are you and Buffy, you know, going out?"

The slayer turned around, her face changed completely. Instead of having a serious, full of emotion expression, she was grinning, "Why do you want to know?" she asked, entertained by the fact that June was asking about her relationship status.

June smiled, "Just wondering. There's no harm in that, is there?"

"Didn't say there was," Faith said, folding her arms, "Is this why you really came? To ask me if I was available? If anything, you should have asked last night, before you asked me if I wanted to 'hang out sometime'," she said, sarcastically.

"Maybe," the girl admitted, "And maybe, you should get to know me a bit before you just assume that my age is going to be a problem."

"Look, kid--"

"June. I prefer to be called June. Not 'kid'," the girl said, firmly.

She laughed, "Fine. Look, June--" she emphasized, "I'm not really open to dating at the moment."

"I didn't ask you on a date."

"Oh, really?"

June stood up, "Really. I asked if you wanted to hang out sometime, and suggested that you get to know me better," she walked over to Faith, stopping only a couple of inches in front of her, "You're the one that is too cocky, and thinking that anytime someone wants to hang out with you, they want to get you naked, and on your back."

Faith's eyebrows went up, "Did you really just say that to me?"

"I'm pretty sure I did. I'm also pretty sure it's true," she went over to the dresser, found a napkin, pulled a pin out of her pocket, and wrote her phone number on it, "Once you've gotten rid of that big head of yours," she said, walking over to Faith with the napkin in hand, "We should hang out."

She looked at the napkin in the girl's raised hand, and stood there for a moment, wondering if she was really going to take it. When she looked at June, searching for any sort of embarrassment, or regret after being so bold, she found that the girl was completely confident, and it was not fleeting.

"Come on," June said, softly, "Just take it. What could happen?"

After just standing for a moment longer, Faith reached out and took the napkin from the girl's hand, "Satisfied?" she asked.

June smiled, and headed towards the door, "Very."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy walked down the hall, gripping her backpack straps, when she spotted Willow getting her things out of her locker. She stopped, just looking at the girl for a moment, wondering whether it was okay for her to approach her. It was true after all, she had lied to Willow, her best friend, and the way that her secret was revealed wasn't very helpful. Of course Dawn knowing, she was sure, was understandable to the redhead, though she had seemed to be shocked by it earlier, but that was just because it wasn't like her and Dawn had always been as close as they were at the moment. Now, Faith knowing before anyone else, she knew wouldn't go over as well, which is why she had no intention on ever mentioning it.

She decided to go for it, she'd have to face all of her friends eventually, it's probably good to start with the nicest one first, "Hey," she said, walking up to Willow.

"Hey," Willow said, turning momentarily, as she continued to get her stuff ready to go.

Buffy leaned against the lockers, still fidgeting with her straps, "So on a scale of one to a million, how much are you hating me right now?"

"Zero," she gave a quick smile, and then continued what she was doing, "You were scared, you kept a secret, you know?" what had started as an explanation of why Buffy lied, slowly turned into her own. Once again, she was thinking of the kiss she shared with Kennedy. Finding out that Buffy also had a huge secret, though a little more life threatening than her own. It made her feel less alone, and more sane, because she had begun to feel that what she was doing, and had been doing with Kennedy behind Oz's back was completely insane, and that she was just going nuts, but now she knew that that wasn't the case, "It's okay. Secrets aren't bad. They're normal. Better than normal. They're good. Secrets are good. Most be a reason why we keep them, right?" she pulled her backpack out, and closed her locker. Then turned to walk down the hall with Buffy.

"Yeah, I guess," Buffy answered, though she wasn't exactly sure there was a reason. In simple ways, she did know. Like why lying and telling someone they look fine when they look like death, but lying to everyone she loves, minus a few, she couldn't really explain. She thought she could blame it completely on fear, in the beginning, but eventually that didn't even seem to explain it all.

"So," she looked over at her friend, "are you going to The Bronze tonight, or…are you gonna sneak away for a not-so-secret rendezvous with Angel?" she asked, kind of wishing she had the luxury of picking between The Bronze, and going to see Kennedy. Fist of all, Oz was expecting her, and second of all--Kennedy was avoiding her. She had actually gained the strength to approach the girl, just before her and Dawn walked out the school, she had asked to speak to Kennedy for a moment, so they could clear the air, and Kennedy said that she had to get some food into Dawn's stomach, along with her own. That was her brilliant excuse, as if a moment would have made her starve to death.

"None of the above," Buffy answered, "I'm gonna try and kill this Lagos guy. Peace offering to Giles."

"Well, Angel has the glove, righ?"

"Yep. But Lagos doesn't know that," Buffy said, thinking of how she was going to surprise the demon, "I figure sooner or later he's bound to show up at that crypt looking for it."

Willow smiled, "Ah, but instead he finds Buffy in a not-so-good mood."

"That's my brilliant plan," she nodded.

"Is Faith goin' with you?" Willow asked, assuming that Buffy would want to invite Faith along so she could get some revenge on the demon, since he had hurt her--after she saved June. Thinking of the girl made her suddenly feel angry, so she pushed the thought away, "Slayer bonding time?"

"Hmm," Buffy pretended to think for a moment, because she had actually called Faith to see if she would come, but the girl hadn't answered, which she found very strange, and made her assume that the other slayer wasn't so happy with her. It was her fault, after all, that she got hurt. If she wouldn't have been alone, there wouldn't have ever been any wounds. Plus, she had acted like an idiot before they had parted, about the whole Angel thing, so she was sure that Faith had plenty of reasons to avoid. But she wasn't going to tell Willow that, "Uh, no. didn't really ask her," she paused, "why don't you come with? It'll be like the old days."

"Sure, why not. I'll just tell Oz that you're wanting some company," inside she gave a little hurray about her new plans for the night. Earlier, after the intervention, and after Kennedy fed her a bogus excuse, Oz approached her, questioning her about her actions during the intervention. He said that he felt that during the whole meeting, he was missing something. Like he was left out of the loop on something. Which he of course was. She defended herself by saying that she was just upset that they'd started talking about things outside of what they were supposed to be talking about, and he then asked about her reaction to finding out about Faith sleeping with Rachel, wondering why it was such a big deal that Kennedy didn't tell her. That made her upset. If nothing else, he should have considered the fact that they were friends--though she wasn't sure they were--and that she would want to know if her friend's were hurting. Especially considering the circumstances. After he seemed to understand that, he apologized, which made her feel bad, and they were on good terms again. Just like that. The idea of getting some time away from all of the drama surrounding her relationships sounded really good to her.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith walked into The Bronze, looking around slowly to see if she saw Buffy anywhere. Really, she hadn't gone to find the other slayer at all. Faith was hoping to bump into one of the intervention holders, if not all of them, and find out exactly what happened. Mostly, to see exactly what was said to Buffy. After knowing for sure that Buffy was there, she relaxed a little, knowing that the blonde wouldn't want her going around yelling at any of her friends despite the fact that they were assholes earlier in the day. Eventually, she spotted the exact person she wanted to see. She walked over to the pool table slowly, and leaned on it a bit just beside him.

"You look pissed," she said, getting the boys attention.

Xander hit a ball, and then stood up straight, walking over to the other side of the table, "Rough day," he bent down and found another shot.

She wanted to instantly grab him, slam him on the table, and tell him that his day was about to get a whole lot worse, but she controlled herself, thinking she should take it slow. Maybe get him to admit he was wrong, "tell me about it," she said, keeping her cool

"Rather just shoot," he said, coldly, as he walked around the table again.

Sighing, Faith put her hand on top of the ball Xander was about to hit, "Don't think I don't know about your secret meeting you had today--Intervention for Buffy, or a yelling session, from what I heard."

He stood up, "Here I thought you might be coming to ask for an update on Lagos, especially since he banged you up last night, but I guess--what was her name--June talked to you about it already. Seems she doesn't really know how to mind her own business."

"See, I'm think you need to calm down, 'cause asshole works for you a little to well lately," she said, angrily.

"Yeah, well, if you would have found out that your best friend has been lying to you, and harboring a known killer, that has killed someone that everyone cared about, and tortured someone you care about, I'm sure you'd be upset too," he paused, "Angel's alive," he waited for a response, but the only one he got was Faith moving her hand off of the ball, and looking down, "Not only is he alive," he shot the ball in, "he also has the glove of Myhnegon."

"What?" Faith asked, "He has the glove?"

"That's right," he shot another, "Didn't June tell you?"

Ignoring Xander's inclusion of June, Faith thought about what she had just heard, for a moment. Yes, she had been around Angel, and Buffy did think that he was perfectly okay, but it just didn't seem like a good idea to give anyone that has ever been evil something so dangerous. Even she would have thought twice about that one, "Guy like that, with that kind of glove…could kill a whole mess of people," she said, mostly thinking to herself.

"Said the same thing to Buffy myself," Xander said, bending over to shoot, "Weird how she didn't seem to care."

"I can't believe her," she blurted, with a little more anger than she meant. Not only did she think Buffy was being irresponsible, she was also mad that Buffy trusted Angel with the glove more than her. If she would have found out that Angel had the glove, good or not, she would've immediately given it to Buffy, or Giles. She wouldn't have let Angel keep it all.

"She says he's clean," he stood up, "When we followed him last night," he said, thinking back, "I thought that at first, she didn't know that he was alive. That there was no way that she'd let that--monster walk around free after what he did. After Ms.--but when we followed him to the mansion--not only does she think he's okay, but she also thinks it's okay to be with him."

Faith frowned, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"She says they're not together, but I know what I saw, and so does Kennedy, and so does Dawn," he bent over to hit one last ball, only for Faith to stop him.

"What do you mean?" she asked, again.

"June didn't tell you that either? She was pretty much there for the whole show," he said, "Well, it seems that everyone likes to hid things from people."

She walked around to his side of the table, grabbed the stick from his hands, and broke it in half, "Don't play with me right now," she grit her teeth, "Now, you either get to it, or I'll go find your girlfriend, and tell her how you've got a thing for Red. Spit it out."

He looked her in the eyes, the anger written within them, along with the lack of patience, "They were kissing," he said, "And I don't mean I simple peck either. It was pretty heavy," she looked away from him, and he sighed, "Are the two of you--?"

"No," she looked up, "No, we're not."

"Let's just hope that they don't go any further, 'cause if they do, we might have to deal with another massacre featuring Angelus. I guess time will tell. She definitely won't be."

She shook her head, "Well, I say we can't afford to find out. I say I deal with this problem now," Faith looked the boy in the eyes, "I say I slay," she said, bitterly.

Xander took a deep breath, "Can I come?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Gwendolyn walked into Giles office, seeing the man stand as she did, "You wanted to see me, Mr. Giles?"

He grabbed his jacked off the back of his chair, and put it on, "Yes. I do apologize for bringing you in at this late hour," he said, sincerely.

She smiled, "Please. A good watcher must be awake and alert at all hours," she said, intentionally insulting him.

He brushed her euphemism off, "Would you like some tea?"

"God, yes, please," she said, walking over to his chair. She sat down, and exhaled deeply, "I'm completely knackered. I spent the evening training with Faith. She doesn't lack for energy."

Giles laughed, as he prepared the tea, "She's your first slayer, I take it?"

"If you're questioning my qualifications--"

"No, I'm not," he interrupted, pouring the tea, "I have the utmost respect for your methods…in my own American way," he walked over to a small filing cabinet, and sat on the edge of it, handing her the cup of tea "I also have the glove," she sat up, and began to question him, so he continued, "Not actually on me, but I believe it's safe. It's in a mansion on Crawford Street," he paused, "A friend of Buffy's is keeping it there."

She stood up, and walked to the doorway, "We must get to it. Immediately. Hide it before someone else finds it," she said, panicked.

"Or better still, destroy it," he suggested.

She frowned, "Destroy it?"

He stood up, "I--I didn't think it could be done either, but…" he picked up a book from his desk, and handed it to her, "it involves transforming fire into living flame and immolating the glove. It's complex, but…I believe I have all the necessary materials," he said, excitedly, mostly because he had out done her. He walked over to his desk and began to gather all of the materials.

She put down the book, and picked up a small statue, "Well, I must say, Mr. Giles…good show," she slammed the statue on his back, and as he began to fall, and turn towards her at once, she hit him across the face, sending him spiraling to the ground, "Good show indeed."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Um, not to downplay my own slaying abilities," Willow said, as she paced in front of a sitting Buffy, "which in some circles are considered formidable, but shouldn't Faith be here?" she asked, "It's great that you wanted me to come and all, like the old days, but isn't two slayers better than a low leveled witch and one slayer?"

Buffy laughed, "Funny thing," she said, knowing that what she was about to say wasn't funny, "I actually did try calling her, but no one was home."

"By no one you mean Faith, 'cause she lives alone," Willow said, quickly, as she stopped pacing "And you lied."

"Sorry. Habit," the slayer said, offering a smile, "Look, if you're feeling any demon-o-phobia, please--splitting is totally an option. You're not the one in trouble with Giles."

"That's true," the redhead said, starting to pace again.

"How long do you think he can stay angry at me, anyway?" she asked, curiously.

Willow laughed, "The emotional Marathon Man?" she asked, sarcastically.

She understood what her friend was saying, "Yeah. I can't really blame him. It's weird though. Now that my secret--Angel--it's all out in the open, I fell better."

"Well, sure you do," she stopped pacing, standing a few feet in front of Buffy, "The big burden's been lifted. Keeping secrets is a lot of work."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "You have now idea," she said, with slight laugh. Then she looked at Willow, "Except you do," she remembered.

"But…can I ask you a question?" she sat down next to her friend. It had been killing her all night, and she had to do it, she had to know if it was just her imagination, "When you were with Angel and nobody knew about it, did that make it feel you know, sexier somehow?"

"Not really. It's too much pressure. After a while, it even makes the fun parts…not so fun," she sighed, "But then again, someone did know," Willow looked at her, confused, "Dawn. Remember?"

"Right. Oh," she said, simply, a little disappointed by the answer she received. She had gotten a rush when she had kissed Kennedy--as usual--but the fact that know one knew, except for Dawn once again, and probably Xander, still made it exciting.

"What makes you think all this secret stuff is sexy, anyway?" Buffy asked, with a grin.

Willow's eyes went wide, "Nothing. I'm just wondering. Gotta keep asking the big old questions when you're blessed with this girl's thirst for knowledge and--Ok," she said, stopping herself from continuing on her babbles-fest, "There's something I need to tell you?"

"Oh, yeah?" Buffy asked, sarcastically, "I figured that out earlier. When you were going off on blondie--blondie that isn't me. What's her name?"

"Ugh, June. There's something about her--grr," she stood up, and began to pace, "But let's not start with her."

"Yes, ma'am," Buffy said, laughing.

She shot her friend a look, so she would stop laughing, which she did, "I have to tell you something that happened before the intervention."

"What?"

"Okay. This will make me feel better, right? You know, I always consider myself a good person--floss, do my homework, never cheat--except on Oz that one…for a while. Which was totally over once Kennedy left, and even when she first came back."

"First being the key work," Buffy, added.

"But lately, and please don't judge me on this, but I want you to be the first person to know--that isn't--that…" she looked up, "there's a demon behind you."

Buffy got up, and jump kicked the demon in the chest, falling to the ground as she did. The demon picked her up and throws her onto her back, which she recovered from immediately. She stood up and backhanded him with one fist, and then the other, making him falter. But it didn't do enough, he picked her up, and threw her down on the concrete bench she had been sitting on, and it crumbled beneath the force of her body.

Willow waved her hands, "No, no--" as she watched Buffy hit the bench.

The slayer got up, and ducked under a punch, and the large demon hit a cross shaped gravestone instead, and it shattered. While it pulled its fist back, Buffy kicked him in the back of his knee, and then slammed his face into her own knee. While he was bent over, she was able to grab the axe on his back, "Now we're talking," she cut his head off, in one clean sweep.

"Yes," Willow whispered, swinging her arms a bit, and then trying to control herself.

Buffy walked back over to her friend, "Sorry about that," she said, with the axe in hand, panting, "So, what were you saying?"

Now she didn't feel so strong. The boldness had left her, and she was struggling to regain it, "Oh, I--It's nothing," she walked off a bit, and found another bench to sit on, knowing that Buffy was right behind her, "Kenned and I kissed."

"You what?" she sat down too.

"Well, I kissed her," Willow corrected, "It was her fault. She was all with the massaging, and the hands and the melting. Then wham," she clapped, and Buffy jump, "I'm planting one on her."

"Will, I thought that whole thing was over with. I guess not," she said, a little shocked.

"No, it was. It was," she looked down, "Until she came back. and even with her rude thing she's got going on--It's just that now--She's hat Kennedy, you know?"

Buffy nodded, "The one you fell in love with," she looked away from her friend, staring straight forward instead, "That really explains your thing with blon--June earlier. I mean, I knew you didn't like her, once I figured that she was kiss-girl, but today I was like whoa, it's been two months."

"Speaking of," she looked at Buffy, "What's with the not telling me about what Faith did?"

She laughed nervously, "Oh, that."

"Don't 'Oh, that' me," she said, glaring at the slayer, "Buffy, Rachel was one of--if not the main, issue that Kennedy and I had while we were doing the whole secret-dating thing. She told me that she purposely held back because of Rachel and all that she had done for her."

"What would me telling you after the fact do to fix anything?" Buffy asked.

"I felt bad too," Willow said, angrily, "Rachel was the one that was the perfect angel, not me, for once. She was the one that was there when I wasn't there. When Kennedy needed someone. Turns out she wasn't such an angel. To be honest, it makes me feel a bit better."

"Willow," Buffy said, gasping, "Did you just say that?"

"Yes," she said, proudly, "Yes, I did. And I meant it too," she shook her head, "I'm not really mad at you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know," she shrugged, "I would have told you, really, but Faith went through a hard time after all of it happened, and Kennedy told her they weren't sisters anymore."

"Wow."

"I know," she thought about Faith, "When I saw her walking--crying, I knew that I had to be there for her. I just knew. And I was. She fought me the whole time, but I didn't care. There was no way I was going let her drown in her own self-hatred. I had to even throw her in the shower, a couple of times," she laughed, "We're all so dysfunctional."

"Yeah," Willow laughed, "We are."

Buffy looked up at the sky, "God," she said, exhaling, "She means so much to me."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Good old Sunnydale Library," Xander said, as he and Faith walked in, heading towards Oz's cage, and the weapon cabinet, "Fully equipped with reference books, file cards…" he opened the cabinet, "and weapons."

Faith looked at all of the weapons, her heart pounding with excitement, "Beauty," she said, with a grin. She immediately started to reach out, wishing that she could grab every weapon in the cabinet, but knowing she was limited. What was going through her mind wasn't killing the vampire…it was the torture that led to the immense killing. No, it wasn't even his death. It was making him pay for something that she knew he really had no part in. he didn't tell Buffy to lie to her face, and she knew that, but that still didn't stop her from wanting to put him in pain.

"I call crossbow," Xander said, also excited. His excitement was more towards seeing the death of the vampire than anything else. It would finally be over--or at least he hoped--no more worrying about the possibility of the vampire being the bump in the night, or the 'cause of an argument, as well as the secrets, between him and his friends.

"You got it," she grabbed a stake, stuffed it into her jacket pocket, and then grabbed, what looked like, a small baseball bat with a hook attached to the side of the thicker end, "could do some damage," she mumbled. She looked to Xander, "Ready to go?"

He closed the cabinet doors, "That I am," with his heart pounding, and his grip tight on the crossbow he was longing to use, Xander followed Faith to the exit of the library, only to be stopped by the sound of a grown, "Wait," he said, getting the slayer to stop.

"What?" Faith asked, turning angrily.

Xander ran into the office to see Giles on the floor unconscious, "Oh, my God," he threw down the crossbow and kneeled next to the man, "It's Giles. Giles, can you hear me?" What the hell happened?" he wondered aloud.

Faith looked at the man, her thirst for blood growing, "Gee, let me guess," she growled, knowing that Xander would understand.

"Stop. Hold it," he said, receiving the message loud and clear, "Just think a minute."

"Yeah, I'm thinking. Thinking Buffy's ex--I mean current--meat did this," she shook her head, "It's just too much of a fucking coincidence that things start to go crazy around here the moment he get that fucking glove into his hands."

Still on the floor, Xander reaches up onto Giles desk, grabbing the phone, and beginning to dial 911, "It's not Angel's style," he said, and he knew it was true.

"The guy's a demon, with a big and powerful glove in his hands, that's known for his bad behavior. How much more proof do you need?" she asked, impatiently.

"Bite marks would be nice," finally his call was answered, "Yeah, I have a medical emergency. Sunnydale High."

Faith turned to leave, "Screw this waiting crap."

"Faith, if we leave, Giles could die," he said, catching sight of her as she passed by the library counter.

She stopped and looked at him, "Yeah, and he's going to have a whole lot of company, unless I do something permanent," she said turned to leave.

"Wait!" he yelled.

"For what?" she said, turning back around "You to grow a pair? You handle the baby-sitting and I'm gonna kill Angel," she declared. With that she stormed off, nothing else in the way to stop her.

"Damn it!"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy and Willow walked into the library, "Giles is gonna be psyched that we shoed up stuffy old Mrs. Post," Buffy said, with a smile. It faded quickly when she saw Giles on a stretcher. She threw the axe behind the counter, making sure that the paramedics didn't see it, and ran over to Giles, "Oh, my God."

The female paramedic lifted her walky-talky, "Sunnydale Medical--"

"What happened? Giles," Buffy leaned over him, looking at his wrapped head.

"Blunt head trauma," the woman continued, "Notify E.R., we're bringing him in."

Buffy looked the woman in the face, "What happened?" she asked again, this time raising her voice.

"No time for this," the woman said, beginning to roll the man out of the library.

"Wait," Giles said, groggily, "Wait…Buffy, you must…must destroy the glove."

The paramedic glared, "You want him to live? Get out of the way."

"Use…living flame," Giles added, as they began to move him again.

"Move!" the woman yelled.

Once Buffy couldn't see Giles anymore, and the doors closed behind the paramedics, she turned to Xander and Willow, who had been silent, "What happened?"

"Your boyfriend's not as cured as you thought," he said, flatly.

"What makes you think that Angel had anything to do with this?" the slayer asked.

"We saw what you saw," he said, staying constant in his tone.

The coldness within Xander's eyes, and words, hit Buffy hard, pulling her almost to tears, but just before the edge, "So you just assumed?" she asked, desperately trying to stay in control of her emotions.

"I didn't, at first," he paused, "Faith did."

That was it. She tipped over the edge and the tears formed at the bottom of her eyes. Inside, her heart was failing her, along with her lungs, which were refusing to pull in enough oxygen, "What did you tell her?"

"Only what everyone else knows. She's a big girl. Came to her own conclusions."

A tear fell. Her worlds had blurred together, clashing into a cloud of chaos. The separate worlds no longer existed. There was no world that only her and Faith could touch; no world that secretly held her and Angel forever in tangled; no world where her friends understood her. The mistrust had climbed from one to another, pulling until they all collided, and there she fell dead center, "What exactly did you tell her," she yelled, "She knew he was alive--"

Willow looked down, "Oh, my, God," she whispered.

Buffy continued, "She knew, so why would she--" she stopped, mid-sentence, staring down at the library's hard floor, and it swept over her. She could see the line of karma passing from one human being to another. The day before, she had lied, now it was back to bite her, "Did you tell her about the kiss," she stepped closer to him, looking him dead in the eyes, "Did you tell her about the kiss, and then accuse Angel of this? Do you even know what you've--how much of a head start does she have?"

He shrugged, "Ten minutes."

She stepped closer to Willow, "Go through Giles's research. Figure out how to destroy the glove," with one last glance towards Xander, Buffy walked out of the library, hoping that she could fix the heart she had no doubt she had broken, "Oh, God, Faith--please."

Willow looked at Xander, who opened his mouth to speak, "Shut up and help me," she said, walking into Giles' office, "Let's hope we get this done in time, and Buffy doesn't have to kill another person that she loves."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Angel, having finished creating the living flame himself, because he already knew the history of the clove, and the way to possibly destroy it, prepared to immolate the glove, but was distracted when he felt someone coming near him. He turned to see a woman, dressed extremely proper, with darker blonde hair, "What do you want?" he asked.

"Gwen Post," the woman offered, "Mr. Giles sent me."

He looked at her with a sideways glance, "What for?"

"To help you destroy the glove," she said, as if there could be no other reason. She looked about the room, and her heart stopped when she spotted a fire, "Is that the living flame?"

Angel looked at it, "Yes."

"Look," she said, getting him to turn back in her direction, "I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but Lagos is on his way here now. If you're performing the ritual incorrectly, it will only make the glove more powerful."

After hesitating for a moment, he gave in, "All right."

"Good," she hid her excitement the best she could, knowing that if she showed it too much, he wouldn't let her near the glove at all, "Where is the glove?"

"In the trunk," he nodded in the direction of the turn, and then turned to walk over to it.

Gwendolyn saw her window of opportunity. She looked around the room again, spotting a shovel, picked it up, and hit the man as hard as she could in the back of the head. Knocking out yet another Sunnydale resident, "That's what I love about this town. Everyone's so helpful," she walked over to the trunk, setting the shovel aside as she did, and kneeled down to open it, but there was a lock on it, "Bugger! Buggar!" she looked over at the shovel, grabbed it, and hit the lock until it breaks. Then she leaned over to open the trunk.

Just as she did that, Angel stood up, his vamp face out, and his temper flaring, "Okay…that hurt."

She turned, still with the shovel in hand, at the sound of Angel's voice, "But it was supposed t kill you," she said, with a confident smile, "If you'd been human, it would have," she took a few steps, "But--" she broke the shovel staff in half across her knee, "I believe this is your poison," she says as she lunges at him, but he ducks, and upper cuts her, making her fall to the ground. When she tried to get up and run, he caught her, and throws her at the wall.

At that moment, Faith walked in, stopping dead in her tracks, "Mrs. Post!" she looks to Angel, who had been bent over the woman, as he stood up straight, "I can't believe how much I'm gonna kill you. At first, I was just gonna rough you up a bit, but now, you're dead."

He was going to say something to the girl, tell her that she has misunderstood the situation, but the fact that she called to the woman who had just attacked him, and the fact that she was on the way to cause trouble anyways, made him change his mind, "You're not getting that glove, Faith."

"You want to bet?" she swings her weapon at him, but he just kicks it away, so she resolves in punching at him instead. Eventually he got an open shot, backhanding her, which she returned, along with a few punches in the stomach and face. When he tried to punch back, she ducked, and maneuvered herself into a position that allowed he to do a scorpion kick, hitting him dead in the face, and then kick him in the back of the knee, making him fall. then she grabbed him, and threw him over the couch, which he rolled over onto a table, landing on his back. She ran over to him quickly, pulling out her stake, and raised it above him--standing there for a moment--and then started to plunge her hands downward, only to have her arm stopped by another. Faith looked beside her--and there was Buffy, "What?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

At the library, Willow and Xander had gathered all the ingredients needed for the spell and placed them out on the table, with lit candles as well.

"Think we got it?" Xander asked, as he watched Willow concentrate.

She shrugged, "Well, it's either the catalyst for the living flame or just some really smelly sand. We'll have to--" the library doors opened and she turned around, instantly almost dropping some of the ingredients when she saw Kennedy, Dawn, and June walking towards them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Kennedy asked, with a smile.

June looked past Willow, spotting the items on the table, and instantly knowing what the redhead was doing. From the smell of it, she also knew how well the spell might, or might not go.

"Giles has us doing some stuff," Willow said, trying to limit the information, "help Buffy with getting rid of something."

Dawn laughed, "You do realize that June knows what you're talking, right?" she asked.

"Yeah--Sure, I'm aware," she fumbled, "Very aware."

"Good," Xander said, getting everyone's attention, "'Cause we kind of need to hurry."

Kennedy looked concerned, "Why, what's going on? Did something happen?" she asked, walking up beside Willow.

With Kennedy standing right next to her, Willow actually felt more at ease, possibly because she hated seeing Kennedy so close to June. She turned back to the table, and continued what she was doing, "Well, someone attacked--or hit--Giles over the head, and he was rushed to the hospital. I'm sure he'll be fine, it's the other activities of the night that call for a rush."

"Why don't you just say it?" Xander asked, earlier, "When I found Giles, Faith and I just happened to be on our way to kill Angel."

"What?" Kennedy shouted, "Are you fucking crazy."

"It gets better," Willow mumbled.

"Well, Faith didn't think it was such a coincidence that Giles got attacked just after it was announced that Angel had the glove--even though it turns out that she already knew Angel was alive--she took off, and was looking for blood. Buffy went to stop her."

Willow walked off a little, going to look at the book they needed, "He skipped the part where he got yelled at. He told Faith about Buffy kissing Angel, and then they found Giles. Buffy wasn't too happy about that."

Kennedy walked over to the counter, slamming her fist down as she did, "Shit," she said, running her hands through her hair, "How much of a head start did she get?" she asked, turning to Willow.

"Enough of one," she said, simply.

Dawn pulled Xander aside, "Have lost your mind?" she asked, in a whisper, "If anything happens to Faith, or Angel, know that you are going to lose my sister forever."

June seeing that know one was really paying attention to her, walked over to the table with the powdered catalyst. She looked around a bit, checking to see if anyone was looking, and then picked up some of the mandrake root, breaking part of it, and throwing it into the mixture.

Willow walked over to June, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," the girl answered.

"Is it ready?" Kennedy asked.

"Well, I was going to say let's test it, but from what the book says, we don't have time. We have to go," she said, pouring the powder into a plastic bag. She blew out the candles, "Right now."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith and Buffy stood across from each other, Buffy in a fighting stance, and Faith simply standing, and staring at Buffy. She hadn't expected the other slayer to show up just in time to save Angel, though at the moment, she knew she should have expected. Buffy always showed up in the brink of time. She was always there to save the day. She was always the hero. But this time, there was no heroism involved. Not in Faith's mind at least.

"I can't let you do this, Faith," Buffy said, hoping that Faith would just let it go. But she knew that that wasn't going to happen.

"You're confused, Twinkie. Let me clear you up," she gestured her hand, with the stake in it, towards Angel, "Vampire," back to herself, "Slayer," back to Angel, "Dead vampire."

"There's a lot you don't understand. Don't do this because of jealousy," she said, staring desperately into the other slayer's eyes.

Before Faith could have a moment to think, Gwendolyn sat up, "Faith…" she said, in a cracked voice, with her hand on her stomach, "she doesn't know. She's blinded by love."

Faith turned to Buffy.

"Faith, no. Please."

She turns to Gwendolyn.

"Trust me."

When Faith turns back to her, Buffy sees the hesitation, she sees the hurt look Faith had tried to hide. She relaxed out of her fighting stance, "Faith, we can figure this out--" she had been wrong. The moment she had let her guard down, she found herself facing a roundhouse from the other slayer, and then found herself on the floor, pain running through her. Before she knows what's going on, she finds herself standing, blocking punches, and sending out her own. Kick, block, block, punch, jump. All of her movements seem to be a blur, with the occasional appearance of pain with impact. As she hits Faith, she feels as if she also hitting herself. Hurting what's within her, as well as Faith. She wondered if Faith was feeling the same. If somewhere inside, Faith was regretting every move she was making. Suddenly she was in a choke hold, she had blanked out, and she grabbed Faith's fingers, and bent them back, and a scream escaped from the other slayer, sending Buffy even deeper within herself. To a place where she knew that she wouldn't feel anything, couldn't feel anything, because that's what it took to keep going. To keep hitting, and ducking, breathing, and moving. She runs, absentmindedly, at Faith, and grabs her, sending them both flying through glass French doors. After losing their breath, due to the impact of hitting the concrete porch, they both stood up, and went back into their fighting stance. Buffy sees Faith hesitate to continue, and hopes that it's over, letting herself return to the world, but Faith wasn't done. They were both tired, and hurting, but it wasn't over.

The rest of the gang arrived, running into the mansion in a hurry, getting Gwendolyn's attention, "The glove!" she yelled, "It's in the trunk."

They went over to the woman, Xander said, "We'll get it," he said, making her first priority.

"Help Faith," the woman said.

"I'll do it," Kennedy said. She ran towards the outside porch, she stopped for a moment when she saw that Buffy and Faith were the one's fighting, and not Faith and Angel, "Are you kidding me," she said, aloud, "This is stupid," she thought of stopping it, but then saw that it wasn't up to her to deal with her sister's mistakes anymore, more importantly, she owed her sister something else. She stepped in between them, turned to her sister, and punched her hard in the face, rubbing her fist afterwards, "I've been waiting to do that for a while now," she said. Then she stepped from between them, "continue," once Faith had recovered from the shock, that's exactly what they did. This time, Buffy having the upper hand, because she was the one fighting with less emotion. Kennedy knew that she had cracked her sister open, and that's what she meant to do. She walked back over to the gang, who were still around Mrs. Post, "They're tearing each other apart."

Xander walked away, going in the direction of, Dawn following close behind him, and then eventually Kennedy, with a sigh. That left Willow and June standing beside Gwendolyn, who was still sitting on the ground hurt. Willow reached down to help the woman up, and just as she did, she looked over to see that June was doing the same thing. It was a moment that she had to put all feelings aside, and do what she needed to do. When it came to saving the world, there was no time for personal things to get in the way.

Xander ran outside, "What are you--Stop! Guys, listen!" he stepped forward, only to have Faith grab him, and literally through him aside, then she went back to fighting Buffy.

Dawn folded her arms, while her and Kennedy stood to the side watching the slayers exchange blows, "This is stupid," she declared.

"Yep," Kennedy nodded.

Gwendolyn lifted the glove from the trunk, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "Finally," she says with a smile. Knowing that Willow and June were standing directly behind her, she turned around quickly and hit both of them with the heavy metal glove, sending them both to the ground, unconscious.

Sensing something was wrong, Kennedy turned around, first spotting Willow on the ground, "Willow--June," she looked over at Gwendolyn, and just as she was about to run and stop the woman, who had put her hand within the glove, which were latching it's claws around her arm, the woman lifted her hand to the sky, and lighting came crashing through the glass ceiling, sending shards of glass to the floor, and stopping Kennedy in her tracks. As Gwendolyn began to say a spell, and the glass finished its rain, she went to take a step again, but the woman turned, stuck out the hand with the glove on it, and said something she couldn't understand, and lighting flew in what she thought was her direction, but when she saw that it was a little off, she looked behind her, and there was Dawn. She ran towards Dawn and tackled her to the ground, knocking Dawn and herself unconscious.

Faith and Buffy froze, their arms intertwined, and turned to Gwendolyn, both of them surprised to see the woman wearing the glove. Buffy pushed Faith's arms away, and Faith took a step back.

"What's going on?" Faith asked.

"Faith," the woman said, out of breath, and supporting her gloved hand with her other hand, to deal with the weight, "a word of advice. You're an idiot," seeing someone out of the corner of her eye, she turns and says the spell quickly, and a bolt flew at Willow, who was saved by Angel, who tackled her to the ground. Knowing that her main threat was Faith and Buffy, she turns her hand in the slayers' direction and says the spell again, but both of them grab each other and pull each other out of the way.

Now out of the woman's path, Buffy had time to think, and to notice that she and Faith had their arms around each other. She pushed the last thought away, and pulled out of the half embrace, sitting across from Faith, "Can you draw her fire?"

"You bet I can," Faith says, panting.

Buffy nodded, "Go do it."

Faith gets up instantly and runs inside. She runs behind a wall in part of the room, knowing that Gwendolyn was waiting for her to come around the other side, but Faith had a statue in sight that she knew if she jumped fast enough would end up fried instead of her. She hoped that she could make it.

Now awake, June was also waiting for Faith to come around the other side of the wall, seeing that Gwendolyn had received the power the glove held. She lifted her hand, just as the woman did, and as Faith leaped out, and the lighting began to flow from the glove, she muttered her own spell, and threw the lighting off it's path, making sure that it hit the statue that Faith wouldn't have quite made it to in time. Once she saw that Faith was fine, she laid back down, knowing that it wasn't quite over yet.

"There' s nothing you can do to me now," Gwendolyn yelled. She looked down at her hand, "I have the glove."

Meanwhile, Buffy had inched back into the room, she picked up the biggest shard of glass she could find, and then stood up straight.

"With the glove," the woman continued, "comes power."

"I'm getting that," she lifted her arm, aimed as quickly as she could, and threw the shard, hoping it hit her target. It did. The woman's arm was chopped clean off, and just as it hit the ground, a loud thunder filled the sky. The woman looked up to the sky, and lighting struck her directly. She screamed at first, but then was muffled as her body burst into flame, and then disintegrated all together.

Everyone, now awoken, and sore, walked to the center of the room, standing around what used to be where Gwendolyn had attacked them from. After they all watched the glove, along with part of Mrs. Post's arm, be destroyed, they stood for a while, just looking around them. Kennedy, who was letting Dawn lean on her, looked over at Willow, just wanting to know if she was okay. When she had seen her on the floor like that, something inside her went into a rage, she wanted to rip the woman apart, but she didn't have the power to do it, and she knew that. All of it was just so heart wrenching. The whole week had been so chaotic, starting with the kiss, and finding out Faith had hid another thing from her, then everything else just started to pour in. She looked over at her sister, who turned away as soon as their eyes met, and then she looked at Dawn, "You ready to get out of here kiddo?" she asked, with a small smile.

Though in pain, she smiled back, "I've been ready. Just thought I'd let you clear your head first," she looked over to see that Buffy was walking over to them, "Hey sis. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she said, putting her sister's other arm around her shoulder, "Come on, let's go home," as they began to walk out of the mansion, Buffy looked over at Angel, who then walked away, and then at Faith. They stared at each other for a moment, the apologies evident in both of their eyes, and then Buffy looked away. It was better that she got her sister home, because at the moment, she had no clue what she could possibly say to Faith, or Angel.

Xander watched as the three of them left, wanting to apologize to Buffy, and Dawn for getting them into the whole mess, but he had a feeling that Buffy wouldn't want to hear it, "Why would she?" he thought. He looked over to Faith, and nodded, and she nodded back. That was all they needed. Then he looked over at Willow, "You mind if I walk you?"

Willow had been looking at June, staring at her intently, when Xander spoke to her, but he had pulled her out of her trans, "Sure," she said, as they began to walk out. She glanced at June, over her shoulder, thinking in her mind, "I saw you. I saw you save her. Who are you?"

Angel looked over at Faith as he went to leave as well, but through a different door, "Stay as long as you want," he said, knowing that whatever was going on, it had affected all of them, and no one was to blame.

June walked over to Faith to say something, but Faith turned away from her, "You can walk yourself home. You're more than capable," she said, walking off.

She watched Faith walk out, and then sighed, "Great," she huffed. After a moment of just taking in the sight of the torn apart mansion, she snapped her fingers, and vanished.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

June knocked on the motel door, and waited for Faith to let her inside. She could hear the slayer messing with stuff, along with the occasional curse word, and that made her laugh. Faith was angry, she knew that. What she was wondering was who the slayer was mad at, and whether she could find something that could benefit herself within the situation. Finally Faith opened the door, and let her in.

"I hadn't expected you to call me," she said, walking past her, "Especially after what you said earlier. I figured that I wouldn't even bump into you for a while, let alone be invited over. The question is, why am I here?"

Faith slammed the door shut, which got her yelled at by her neighbors, who she promptly told to shut the fuck up, and then walked over to her dresser, looking at June, already sitting on the bed, "You're an asshole. An untrustworthy asshole."

"Hmm," June nodded, "Don't think I've been called that for a while. Last person was--oh, my ex. Right after he saw me kiss your sister. I don't really think there's a connection though."

"Cut the bullshit, innocent act, okay. Both of us know what the fuck is going on here," June looked at her with a blank expression, "You really don't know what the fuck I'm talking about, do you?"

"Do you want me to read your mind?" she asked, "I could do that, but most people think it's sort of invasive. Why don't you just spit it out. Why am I here, and what have I done to make you so mad?"

"Why didn't you tell me everything?" still nothing, "You came over here earlier, and skipped a whole lot of fucking details. Makes me think you're up to something."

June stood up, "Makes me think you're afraid of something," she walked up to Faith, "A little more detail would be nice."

"You didn't tell me about the glove…or the fact that Xander had found Buffy and Angel making out with each other."

June rolled her eyes, and went back to sit on the bed, "So that's what this is about. You're jealous," she saw Faith clinch her fists, "Honestly, I thought that it wasn't my place. I thought that since you and Buffy are so close, she'd come around and tell you herself. Who am I to come in here telling all of her business. I'm not that type of person."

"Yeah," she walked over to her, "What kind of person are you, exactly?"

"The kind that sticks to herself, and only involves herself in what she wants to. Anything outside that box and I'm gone," she paused, "To say even more--to be a bit more hones--I thought you knew that they were together. I knew that you cared about her, but there's obviously more to it."

"That's none of your business," she said, raising her voice a bit.

"Which is exactly why I have no intention on asking you about it. I was just being honest. Telling you what I thought. Sorry my brain stores information sometimes," she stood up, "Anything else, or are we okay? Because I really wasn't trying to keep stuff from you. I mean, why would I want you to be mad at me after I've told you my deepest darkest secret. Not to mention the fact that I've been trying so hard to get to know you better," she saw Faith hold in a laugh, "See, there you go. You've already forgiven me."

"Just for once, can you not flirt with me?" the slayer asked.

"I'm not flirting, but you really do accuse me of it a lot. Maybe you're just seeing what you're used to seeing--people you don't really know going after you. Wait, haven't we had this discussion already?" she pretended to think, "Yep, we have. And the fact remains the same. I'm not trying to get you on your back. Now, I'm really needing some sleep, so I'm going to go. Let me know when you're ready to hang out…tomorrow perhaps?"

Faith shook her head, "In your dreams."

June laughed, "I'm not much of a dreamer," she said, then she vanished.

"That kid--" Faith said, as she laid down, with a slight laugh. Then the laughter faded, as well as the little bit of joy she had felt. She now knew what it felt like to be lied to by someone she cared about, "She's right. Buffy should have been the one to tell me," tears started to swell, until finally she let them fall, and then eventually fell asleep.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Xander, Cordelia, Kennedy, Willow, and Oz, were all sitting on the couches near some tables for studying. Kennedy, Xander, and Cordelia were on one, and Willow and Oz on the other, with a table between them. Both of the guys had their arms around there girlfriend's shoulder, and then there was Kennedy, sitting with her legs spread, and her arms folded, staring into space, while Willow stared at her.

"So there's no more glove thingy?" Cordelia asked.

"No," Xander said, with a nod, "Little living flame, little mesquite--Gone for good."

"Sounds like we missed a lot of fun," Oz said, in his usual flat tone.

Xander pulled his arm from around Cordelia, "Then we're telling it wrong."

"Very wrong," Kennedy said, without looking at anyone around her.

Seeing that Kennedy was aware of her surrounding, Willow stopped looking at her, and looked across at Xander instead, "What do you think Buffy, and Angel--and Faith, are gonna do?"

"Kill each other," Kennedy mumbled.

"Boy, do I don't know," Xander said, oblivious to Kennedy's mumbling, despite the fact that she was sitting right next to him.

"Well, Angel saved me from a horrible flamey death. That sort of makes me like him again," the redhead noted.

Buffy walked over to them, "What are you guys talking about?" she asked, knowing the answer.

Oz answered, "Oddly enough, your boyfriend. Again."

She went to sit next to Willow, "he's not my boyfriend. Really, truly, he's…I don't know," she looked at Xander, "Are we cool?"

He sat up a little, "Yeah. Just seeing the two of you kissing after everything that happened, I leaned toward postal. But I trust you," he said, sincerely.

Cordelia sat up, "I don't. Just for the record."

Buffy rolled her eyes, and then looked at Kennedy, who was silent, and looking off into nothingness. She thought back to that moment when she saw her hit Faith, and the fact that her first instinct was to attack Kennedy and defend Faith, and the fact that she realized that that wasn't the fight she was fighting. Not anymore. By lying to Faith she had lost all privilege to criticize anyone that ever did the other slayer wrong, in her opinion. She had lost all rights, when it came to Faith. The fact that Kennedy even did it, was what shocked her, but she had a feeling that there was a motive behind it. One that she could never understand, because it was a sister thing between Faith and Kennedy, the one person that knew Faith better than anyone. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a cough, and turned to see Giles, with a bandage on his head wound, standing at the edge of the steps leading up to them, "Let me guess," she said, "Gwendolyn Post, not a watcher."

He headed up the stairs, slowly, "Yes, she was. She was kicked out by the Council a couple of years ago for misuses of dark power," he sighed, "They swear there was a memo," he said, sitting on the arm of the couch, next to Kennedy.

"Well, I better go," Buffy said, standing up, "Little more damage control."

Kennedy looked up, finally focusing on the moment, "Buffy--" she contemplated for a moment, wondering if she should say what she wanted to say; tell Buffy to give Faith a message for her, and then changed her mind, "never mind."

"Okay," Buffy says, then she turns to leave.

"The whole Angel thing is so weird," Willow said.

Giles got more comfortable, "Yes, well, we'll have to see how that unfolds, won't we?"

Kennedy huffed, "Don't forget about the third party, either."

Spotting the group, and who she had been looking for, June walked over to them, "Hey, Kenn. Ready to go?" she asked, with a smile, "Hey," she said, to everyone else, who returned it in their own kind of way. Cordelia with a conceded eye roll, Xander with a goofy smile, Oz in his cool tone, Giles with his politeness, and Willow--well, she didn't say anything at all. In fact, June could see that the girl was thinking about something, and it had nothing to do with her usual jealousy. It was something else all together. Something she knew she needed to be concerned about.

"Yeah, come on," Kennedy said, getting up, "Bye guys," she threw over her shoulder, as she walked away.

"Bye," everyone said, in unison.

Cordelia took a deep breath, "Don't trust her either."

Willow watched the two of them fade into the crowd of students, thinking all the while, "That makes two of us."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith sat on her bed, watching some black and white television show that was on, when there was a knock at the door. For once, she wasn't going to get up with a stake in hand, she was going to just sit back, and let who ever it was come in. Really, she was pretty sure that it was June, coming just to bug her, but when she said come in, it wasn't the blonde she had expected to see. It was Buffy.

"Hey," the blonde said, closing the door behind her. When she saw how bruised Faith's face was, way more than her own, her heart began to ache, but she knew she had to keep it together. She was there to accomplish something, not cry on the girl's shoulder about the damage she had herself done. Instead, she turned her attention to the room, which Faith had cleaned thoroughly, and made look more homey, "The place looks nice."

She picked up a magazine from beside her, giving her something to look at, seeing that Buffy was standing almost directly in front of the television, "Yeah, it's real Spartan," she turned a page.

Buffy knew that Faith was avoiding looking at her, and she knew the quick responses was all she was going to get, and she had to deal with that, "How are you?" she asked.

"Five by five," Faith said, as she turned the page.

"I'll interpret that as good," Buffy said, unsure of what Faith meant, but knowing that she couldn't be completely okay, not after the fight they had.

"Don't worry. The big bruise on the right, that's from Kennedy. She's got one hell of hook, I must admit," she said, knowing what Buffy was thinking, "Really not sure why you're here at the moment, B."

She sighed, "Look, Gwendolyn Post--whoever she may have been, had us all fooled. Even Giles," that wasn't what she meant to say. She meant to go into her apology for not telling her the complete truth about her relationship with Angel, but it wasn't coming out. No, technically her and Angel weren't together, but she knew what Faith had asked when she asked about their relationship, and she said there wasn't one at all basically.

"Yeah, well, you can't trust people," she said, knowing exactly where to hit the other slayer hard, "I should've learned that by now," another blow.

"I realize this is gonna sound funny coming from someone that just spent a lot of time kicking your face…and lying to you, and who's finding it really hard to say what they want to say, like I am at this very moment…but you can trust me."

Faith closed her magazine, and finally looked at Buffy, a sarcastic smile all over her face, "Is that right?"

"I know I kept secrets, but I didn't have a choice--" she wanted to keep going, to say that she had no choice because she didn't want to lose Faith, but she had anyways--but like everything else, it just wouldn't come out, "I'm on your side," she kicked herself mentally, "What the hell does that mean?" she questioned, in her head.

Faith folded her arms, "I'm on my side, and that's enough."

The blonde shook her head, "Not always."

She rolled her eyes, "Is that it?" she asked, expecting to hear more.

"Yeah, I guess."

"All right. Well, then, I'll see you," she looked past Buffy, at the television, since Buffy had moved slightly, and waiting for the girl to exit. Just as she started to, her back turned and everything, Faith suddenly wanted to say more, "Buffy--" she started, wanting to take the next step, and really explain why she had reacted the way she had. Tell her that she had only asked about the situation with Angel so she could know whether it was okay to ask her out.

"Yeah?" Buffy turned quickly, hope even in her voice.

But once again, Faith backed away. She was done taking that risk, at least for a while, "Nothing," Buffy walked out, leaving her alone in her room, wondering what she was going to do next, if anything.

Outside, Buffy stood in front of the door for a moment, and then started to walk, "Oh, God."

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Finally! Thank goodness, it's over! Do you guys have any clue how long this Pt. 2 is total? Let me tell you--42 pages. That's right 42. I'm so tired, I can't even focus. Okay, so that's it. I hope you liked it. Um, I'm not really sure what's going to happen next, 'cause my brain isn't working, so I can't tell you if it's going to be an 'in between' or another remake, just yet, but I'll let you guys know. Like I said, I hope you really enjoyed it. Please review, and thanks for reading. ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typos…


	14. Scaremongering

-1Howdy! Now that I've made up my mind…in further detail…about what I'm going to do in this 'in between' episode, I am now ready to present it to you in all of its glory. Hopeful glory. It's kind of short, though. I'm not sure how well you'll like it, but I hope it's likable. It will be like an episode that follows immediately after the 'Revelations' episode. Plus a possible day or two. Um, just to warn you I'm not going to take an major jumps, relationship wise--hint hint--in this, because I'm still trying to follow the guidelines of the season, so you guys probably know what my version of 'Lovers Walk' will entail. The question is how? And what changes will I make? Then once I've done my version of 'The Wish', which I'm looking forward to twisting in my own way, and I also hope that you are as well, things will get really interesting. You guys think things are dramatic now…just wait. Thanks again for reading, and reviewing. Please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Ten: Scaremongering

Dawn walked into the living room and pulled the covers off of her sister's head, "Get up," she commanded. The slayer just groaned, and turned over, not opening her eyes even once. Dawn rolled her eyes, "Come on Buffy, you've been lying on the couch for two days straight. You need to get out. Go to school. Take a shower--please take a shower, you're kinda smelly," the slayer groaned again, so Dawn got frustrated, "What about saving lives, and fighting evil. You can't just let people die," she paused, and then mumbled, "Faith's probably doing the same thing."

Buffy turned over, and sat up, staring up at her sister, "You think so?" she asked, "Do you think that's she lying around all sad, and lost, like me?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I doubt she's as pathetic," as soon as she finished her sentence, Buffy lied back down, and Dawn sat on the arm of the couch, "That doesn't mean you get to lie back down. You went through all that trouble to get back into school, and now you won't even go. This is ridiculous. What if they kick you out again."

"I'll just get Mom to write me a note," Buffy said, her voice muffled.

"Mom thinks your on drugs--again. Really Buffy, you can't stay on the couch forever. It can't be that bad," her sister gave her a look, "Okay, it's sort of bad. You haven't talked to Angel since Faith tried to kill him, and you haven't heard from Faith since she found out that you lied to her about your thing with Angel, but that doesn't mean that you get to be all reclusive. You need to get out--and don't forget the shower. Come on."

"No," the slayer said, reaching behind her on the floor, and pulling her blanket back over, "I'm not going."

Joyce walked in, "Oh, Buffy, sweetie, are you still not feeling good?" she asked, walking over to the both of them. Instead of answering, Buffy just groaned, "Oh, poor baby."

Dawn rolled her eyes, "You're kidding me."

"Not a word out of you," Joyce said, to her younger daughter, "Not since your principle called and told me that you've been skipping class, and then Principle Snyder called saying that you've been on 'his' campus, without 'his' authorization," she looked back at Buffy, "Sweetie, tell Mommy what hurts."

Buffy looked up at her mom, pouting, "Everything," she whined.

"Okay, sweetie. You can stay home," she said, lovingly, "But this is the last day. Tomorrow, you'll have to go back to school. So you better rest up," she kissed Buffy on the head, and then turned to Dawn, "Do you want me to take you to school, since I'm getting to go in late, or do you still want Kennedy to take you? Is she even up yet?"

"Nope, but she's late…and Buffy would be too, if she was going," they heard a door slam upstairs, followed by a loud thump, and a follow of curse words.

Joyce sighed, "She's up."

Kennedy ran down the stairs, buttoning one of the button's, out of two, of her navy blue collared shirt, "Come on Dawnie….Sorry that I'm not getting you to school in time to talk to your friends before you head to class--"

"She doesn't have friends," Buffy said, under hear breath. Dawn turned and shot her a look, and since their mother was looking in the other direction, Buffy stuck her tongue out in response.

"Be safe," Joyce said, giving Dawn a hug, and a kiss on the head, "You too Kennedy."

She smiled, "I don't get a hug and kiss, Ms. Summers?"

All of the Summers women huffed, "No," they said, in unison.

"Let's go, Kenn," Dawn said, walking over to the door. Once they were outside, she felt it was safe to discuss Buffy's condition, "She's losing it, I swear. All she does is lie around all day, and watch TV. That's when she's not sleeping, or whining about something. She's just a complete wreck."

"And she's start to smell," Kennedy added, as they got into the car, "Buckle up, kiddo," she said, when she noticed that Dawn wasn't going to.

"That's not fair," the girl whined, "You don't do it."

Kennedy started the car, "Look who's whining now. It must run in the family," she said, laughing, "I'm sure she'll be fine, just give her one more day, and I'll help you throw her into the shower--for our own benefit. It's just gonna take a little time for her to deal with all the drama in her life. I mean, I had to go home after the whole break off with Willow, and finding out my sister slept with my girlfriend, ordeal. At least I didn't have a bunch of people hounding me, like she did. Then there was dealing with Faith trying to kill Angel. That has to be ruff."

"Well, look at you. Being all supportive," Dawn said, in a mocking tone. Then she said, once again, in a flat serious tone, "She's losing it."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

June walked into the library, hoping that Kennedy was already inside waiting for her, but she instead found Willow sitting at the table reading something. At first, she thought of turning and leaving, but eventually she figured that walking out would make her seem cowardly, and decided to stay. She walked over to the table, and sat right across from Willow, who, after seeing that she had walked in, went back to what she was doing, and didn't even look up at her as she sat down, nor after she had been sitting there for a minute.

"I'm also a big reader," she said, trying to get the girl to stop acting like she was invisible. She was well aware of the fact that Willow didn't like her, even if she hadn't actually been given a reason not too, but that didn't stop her from wanting to make conversation; to ease the tension, and such.

Willow turned a page in her book, "So I've heard."

"I'm sure," she took a deep breath, "Why don't we just get this over with, and talk about the fact that you don't like me because I ruined your relationship with Kennedy."

She looked up for a moment, just a quick second, and looked a the blonde girl, who seemed to be looking at her with a strange look in her eyes, and then looked back down, "You didn't ruin anything," she said, turning the page yet again, "You just disrupted it."

"Not sure there's a difference."

"There is."

"Wow, so you're just being a bitch then. I had heard that you were so nice. Now I'm not so sure that they've got it right," she said, purposely trying to annoy the girl.

"I'm sorry. I don't really care if you think I'm nice or not. We're not friends," she paused, "As for calling me what you just did--I was thinking the same thing about you. Funny how people say you're nice too. Maybe these people aren't good judges of character."

"Now I'm wondering if you're talking about who I think you're talking about," she waited for a response, but didn't get one, "So you are, then. You're talking about Faith."

"I didn't say that," Willow said, in a quiet voice. She had actually been talking about Kennedy, the one person they really had in common. Yeah, she had talked to Faith, and could say that sometimes they were somewhat friends, but she definitely wasn't close to the brunette slayer.

"You didn't have to," June said, also lowing her voice, but in a more mocking way. She sat back in her chair, slightly leaning back, "Funny, you just seem to dislike a lot of people who don't deserve to be disliked. If you weren't so madly in love with Kennedy, you'd probably dislike her too."

The redhead looked up, "What did you just say?"

"I said--If you weren't so madly in love with--"

"Why are you doing this?" Willow asked, "Do you just want to make me mad?"

"Oh, yeah. I only live to upset you," she said, sarcastically.

"It sure seems like it. I mean, you just happen to ask the girl that I--Kennedy to help you get rid of some guy, and then kiss her in the hall right when I just happened to be in it. You just happened to be in her room when I went to go work things out with her. You just happened to walk into our secret meeting, and point out the fact that you know more about what's going on with her than I do. Then you come in here, when I happened to be studying, and start insulting me. I think it's a little bit too ironic, don't you? What is this really about?"

"Nothing. I just came here to meet Kennedy, give her something, and then leave. It's not my fault that I ran into you first," she smiled, "But isn't it a pleasant surprise. I'm sure you've been waiting to bump into me too. I mean, from my point of view, this whole thing is a completely different story. It seems like you're the one that's been popping up in my life lately. I'm not the type to go around and purposely piss people off, so don't assume that I am. All I wanted to do was get rid of a crazy boyfriend the day you saw me and Kennedy in the hall. That night you walked into her room, I had just gone to make sure she was okay, since you weren't letting her explain. The whole meeting thing, I was just trying to give a message to Buffy and Kennedy that Faith had been hurt. Pointing out that Faith had slept with Rachel was just to force Kennedy to get it off her chest, because she needed too. Then running into you; being in here with you right now; sitting right in front of you; looking you in the eyes…pure coincidence, I assure you. I don't have a problem with you."

"Well I have a problem with you," Willow said, angrily, "I know that you've been lying to us. Acting like you're some innocent, helpless girl, that needed to be rescued; not only from a crazy boyfriend, but Lagos too…I know your secret. Or at least part of it. You can do magic. I saw you that day, when Xander and I were trying to hurry up and get all the ingredients for the living flame together, and ready. You put something extra in it. Then, I saw you control Mrs. Post's hand when she was firing in Faith's direction. I'm only wandering if you were trying to save her, or kill her."

"I wouldn't hurt Faith," June said, now on defense. She had been caught. At the very moments she had hoped not to be, she had been caught using her magic. Even if she had done the girl a favor, and corrected her mistake with the ingredients, and also saved Faith's life, she hadn't meant for Willow to find out. Of all people, Willow was the person she didn't want to know, out of everyone.

"Then why didn't you just tell us you wanted to help, or something like that?" Willow asked, "Why didn't you tell us that you can perform spells? What, are you afraid of something--someone? Did you think you'd be killed? What are you?"

"Why don't you let me answer the damn questions, before you present a fucking 'nother one?" she asked, trying to keep herself from yelling, "I don't know what the fuck you're assuming here, but I'll definitely tell you you're wrong. I'll admit that I know spells…that I'm actually more powerful than you can even imagine, but I will not tell you that I'm something evil. That I'm an abomination. I am one hundred percent human. I'm a witch. Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no need for you to call up Buffy and have my head cut off with an axe."

"You're a witch?" she asked, "What, you just happened to be powerful enough to control one of the most powerful forces--at the moment--so someone wouldn't be killed? You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't care what you believe. You--" she laughed, "You couldn't touch me if you tried, and neither could any of your friends to be honest. I'm telling you this, because it's the truth. I'm this powerful because I was taught the ways of magic from my uncle, a very powerful, very dead, warlock. He taught me all that he could before he was killed for knowing too much about the world and all of its secrets. Not to mention all of the texts he left me. Now, do you have any more questions, better I should say--assumptions?" she asked.

"Not at the moment," Willow said, "Only the one--if you can be trusted."

"I'm not here to gain your trust. If I had been, I would have done it already. You don't have the slightest idea what's going on around you--with your friend, or otherwise. If you only knew--you should really look further into who you are, and the power you hold within you, instead of focusing so hard on people who pose no threat to you whatsoever. You'd be surprised at what you'd find," she stood up, "With blinding hair and a heart of gold, she will be the cause of all ends. A fight between one kind will begin, and from her death bed, she will think only of her dead lover. Knowing then, and only then, how to stop it all."

Willow frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"If you only knew," June said, again. She turned towards the library door, knowing that Kennedy was about to walk in, she had felt her presence once she let the magic flow within her veins, after Willow told her that she knew her secret. It was only when she felt she might need to defend herself that she let loose the magic within her, and when she did, everything around her could be felt, heard, and tasted. She was whole, "Kennedy," she said, with a smile, as the girl walked in, "I have the homework you need for next period."

Kennedy smiled, and took the paper the girl was holding out, "Thanks," she laughed, "It was kind of weird, walking in here while you happened to be looking at the door. Like you knew I was coming or something," she sighed, "Guess I need to stop staying out so late. I'm starting to lose my mind. Thanks again. Now we're even; you don't owe me anything."

"Good," June said, as she started to leave, "I'm not really convinced that what I did matches what you did for me, but I'll let it go. This time. I'll see you later."

"Sure," Kennedy said, with a nod. Once June was gone, she turned her attention to Willow, "Hope she didn't say anything to you while I wasn't here," she said, sitting down, "She's always telling me that she thinks we should work things out."

"Really?" the redhead sighed, "I find that hard to believe. Especially considering our little encounter that you just missed out on."

"What happened?" Kennedy asked, hoping that the two of them hadn't ripped each other's head off--using words of course.

"Kennedy, she's been lying to you. Keeping secrets from all of us, for no reason. Or at least, not one I can think of."

"I'm going to need a bit more detail with this one, Will. I can't read your mind."

"But I'm sure she can," Willow said, knowing that if June was as powerful as she claimed--as she seemed to be, then there was no telling what she could do. Reading minds, or tapping into them, definitely was a skill a witch could learn, "She's a witch."

Kennedy laughed, "Are you serious?" Willow kept a straight face, so she stopped laughing, "Oh…she's a witch--witch. Like you're kind of witch. I thought that you were calling her a witch as in a bitch."

"No. I wouldn't use the word 'witch' in that sort of way. That would be like insulting myself, or calling myself the b-word. She's a witch-witch. As in spells, and mind reading, and feeling the presence of other people just as they happen to be walking into the room."

"That's what you think that was?" she asked, "She could have been on the way out, and just turned when I walked in here. We had decided to meet here after all."

"She admitted it, Kennedy. So stop trying to prove that she's not a witch."

"Even if she was," she leaned on the table, placing her elbows on it, "that doesn't mean anything. You're a witch too--as you already pointed out. Why does her being a witch mean anything?"

"Because she was hiding it from us. I get not wanting to tell people that are normal, or that don't know about demons, and vampires, or big snakes that eat babies--"

"She doesn't know about that," Kennedy interjected, "But I get what you're saying. You're saying that because she didn't want to tell such grand people like us, then she can't be anything other than evil. She can't be a girl wanting to keep to herself, and not tell people--who are practically strangers--her most sacred secret about herself."

"I don't trust her," Willow blurted, "I don't trust her at all."

"Fine," Kennedy paused, "But answer this question for me: Is it because you're jealous, or because you're actually worried?"

She looked down, thinking about the question herself. In the beginning, she would definitely admit that she didn't like, or trust, June because she was jealous. With what she saw in the hall way, she felt she had ever right to be. But when she saw June add something to the conduit for the living flame, and then guide the evil watcher's hand, she knew something was up. That was enough for her to suspect something, even if Faith came out alright, and the spell did work.

After taking a deep breath, she looked back at Kennedy, "Both," she admitted, "But when she was in here just now, I got this weird feeling. Like she was hiding way more than the fact that she was a witch. She said things--"

"What kinds of things?" Kennedy asked, "Did she threaten you?"

"No, nothing like that. She told me that I don't know what's really going on around me--friend or otherwise, and that I should look more into the power within me. The way she said it--it was like she was saying, if I don't focus on that, something might happen."

"That sounds like a threat to me," Kennedy said, ready to go off and find the girl. There was no way that she was going to let anyone threaten Willow's life, even if she wasn't with the girl anymore, she was sure as hell willing to lay her life on the line for her.

"Not like a threat. Something outside of herself might happen. I don't know, it was so weird. Then she said something else--something I should write down before I forget" she grabbed a piece of paper, and a pencil from her bag, and wrote down what the girl had said, remembering it exactly. She gave the paper to Kennedy, "Read it, aloud. I need to hear it again."

Kennedy picked up the paper, "With blinding hair and a heart of gold, she will be the cause of all ends. A fight between one kind will begin, and from her death bed, she will think only of her dead lover. Knowing then, and only then, how to stop it all," she handed it back to Willow, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me, but I think she was telling me to find out myself. That maybe it has something to do with me…I'm not sure. One thing I do know--you cannot try to confront her, Kennedy. She's powerful. Really powerful if she was telling the truth about being taught by a powerful warlock, who was killed for knowing too much about the world. She said that none of my friends could even touch her."

Kennedy put her hand on Willow's, sensing that what the girl had said--about no one they knew, basically meaning the slayers they knew, could touch her--might have scared her a little, "Well…a bullet can kill any human. I know that for sure. If she comes after you--"

"She won't," Willow cut in, "I'm pretty sure I'm not the one she's interested in, not in that way anyways. With what was just said, and who was brought up, I'm thinking something is going on--with her and Faith, maybe. It might not be a dating, or sex thing, or anything like that, but she got awfully defensive about something, and brought up Faith, so maybe--just maybe, you should give your sister a heads-up."

She pulled her hand back, and ignored the sigh that escaped Willow's throat, "Maybe."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn walked to the parking lot, and smiled when she saw that Kennedy was the one picking her up, "Hey, you," she said, quickening her pace. As she usually did when she picked her up, Kennedy was standing beside her car, leaning on the passenger door as she waited for her to get out of school. Buffy hadn't been completely wrong when she said that Dawn didn't have friends. She knew some people, and talked to some of the other students, but she didn't consider any of them to be her friend. There was no one from school that she talked to outside of school, and none that she desired to talk to really. A couple of the guys at her school had asked her to hang out with them once, but it turned out to be an opportunity for them to get a closer look at Kennedy, who of course looked amazing leaning against her car, with that grin on her face.

"Hey, kiddo. I thought I'd pick you up today," she said, as she opened the door for the girl, "Maybe you can help me with something, give me a little advice, and calm me down a bit more so I don't go off and do something I'll regret later."

"Great," Dawn said, as Kennedy also closed the door for her, and then walked to the other side, and got in the car. When the older girl didn't start the car, and stopped talking, she buckled her seatbelt, knowing that they weren't going anywhere until she did, and then Kennedy started the car.

"So before we get to me, how was your day?" she asked, "Did it remind you just how much you love to hang out with the cool older, very attractive kids, like me for example?"

Dawn laughed, "Actually, I really didn't think about you at all," she lied, "In fact I had a great day at school, with kids my own age," another lie, "They're just as fun to hang out with, if not more fun."

"I find that hard to believe. No one is more fun than me, and I have plenty of people who could back me up on that."

"Yeah, if you can remember their names," she said, laughing.

Kennedy gasped, "Dawn Summers, did you just call me a slut? I can't believe you. You know what I'm just going to drop you off here, you can walk home."

Dawn continued to laugh, "We're in the middle of a busy street, you wouldn't possibly--" Kennedy started to pull over to the side of the road, cutting cars off, all while Dawn continued to laugh, "I was kidding…sort of. If you get into a wreck with me in the car, my mom is going to kill you."

"That's true," Kennedy said, as she began to drive in the correct manner, "You're lucky that I'm afraid of Joyce's angry side. All of the Summers women seem to be nut jobs when the smallest things happen."

"I'm pretty sure me getting into a wreck--her youngest bestest daughter--is not a small thing. In fact I'm pretty sure it's a major thing."

"Oh, yeah?" Kennedy asked, in a daring tone, "How 'bout we find out," she revved the car, and was about to take off, but then stopped, "You're lucky. I don't want another speeding ticket this week."

"This week?" Dawn's jaw dropped, "How many have you had?"

"A few," she answered, with a shrug, "But that's not why I picked you up, so let's get to why I'm really here."

"It wasn't just to hang out with the coolest girl ever?" Dawn pouted.

She laughed, "No, I'm pretty sure she's out of town right now," Dawn hit her playfully, and she grabbed her arm, pulling her hands off of the steering wheel, pretending to be hurt, and forcing Dawn to grab the wheel, "Oh, man, what if I can't drive anymore?" she asked, with a fake groan.

"Then we're both dead, 'cause I can't drive," Dawn said, almost in a panic. Kennedy grabbed the wheel again, and she sat back in her seat, "So, what's going on? How much drama do we have to deal with in this therapy session, and do I get paid for it? Perhaps with food? Or a movie?"

"No to the movie. You're mom would kill me if I took you to a movie on a school night, but I will feed you, and there might be some amount of change involved. That you might receive. Fifty dollars perhaps, if you give me the best advice you can give."

"I'll do my best," she nodded, "But you know you don't have to really pay me, right? I mean, if that were the case, you'd owe me thousands, and Buffy would owe me millions. Most of Sunnydale would owe me--The mailman would owe me," she continued.

"The mailman?"

"Yep. One day he was putting the mail in the mailbox--it was when you were back with your parents, and mailing me letters every once in a while--and I noticed that he had a pouty face. So I said, 'Mr. Mailman' because that is his name of course, 'You're looking kind of down today.' He looked at me--kind of like you're looking at me now--then, after a moment, he said to me, 'My wife and I got into an argument this morning.' Of course, my next question was, 'Well, what'd you do,' he told me, 'Nothing.' I didn't believe that at all, so I gave him a look, then he told me, 'I hung up the phone when her mother called last night,' after shaking my head, at his huge mistake, I explained to him that, 'Seeing that your wife's mom is probably a bit old, you should consider that it could have been an emergency. Sometimes old people die, and I'm sure your wife would want to at least speak to her mom before she keels over.'"

"Dawn! You did not say that, did you?" she asked, shocked by the girl's boldness.

The girl nodded, "Hell yes I did!" she cleared her throat, "I mean--Yes, I did. Luckily for him, I gave him the best advice he could ever get. The next day, his wife's mother died. It's a good thing he answered the phone the night before."

"You've got to be kidding me," she pulled into the driveway of the Summers house, wanting to grab something from inside before they went to eat, "You're full of shit."

At first, she just stared at Kennedy, with a strange blank expression, almost on the verge of being frightening. Then, once she saw that Kennedy was looking a little worried, she laughed, "Yeah, I am. But, if it were true, it would have been the best advice I ever gave him. I actually just told him to consider brushing his teeth."

"Dawn!" she got out of the car, laughing all the while, and then her and Dawn walked up to the door. Kennedy stopped and turned to the younger girl, "I hope you know that out of all the people that I've ever met, you're the only one that can make me feel better when everyone else is on the verge of getting their ass kicked. You can always make me laugh," with an awkward quickness, she gave Dawn a kiss on the cheek, pulling back to see the girl blushing, "If only you were a bit older…you'd be the perfect girlfriend."

"Ah, the age issue," she said, nervously, "Who came up with that, anyways?"

They walked inside, and found Buffy on the couch, "Really," Kennedy said, looking down at the sleeping slayer, "she's starting to get a little smelly."

"It could be worse. She could be taking out all of her anger on us. We do live with her after all--easy targets," she went over and tapped her sister on the shoulder, "Buffy," she whispered, "Hey, get up."

Kennedy rolled her eyes, "You do realize that one--whispering that quietly wouldn't wake anyone, and two--waking a slayer with a whisper and a tap is like begging to get all of your limbs broken before you can even say your own name? I would cut that out if I were you."

"No," she leaned over, "You just got to know what to say," once she was positioned right over Buffy's ear, she whispered something she knew would wake the slayer, "Faith's outside. She wants to talk to you."

Buffy sat up, pulling the covers over her head instantly, "Oh, my, God. I look horrible," she paused, "And I don't smell that great either."

Dawn stood up straight, "See, that's what would happen if she really came too. You'd be to much of a mess, and you'd smell too bad to even talk to her."

"You little…" the slayer threw the covers off of herself, and glared at her sister, "Not. Cool."

"I thought it was genius," the younger sister said, with a grin.

Kennedy grinned, as well, "I agree. Genius plan. Now, get in the shower. I'd really like to be able to sit on the couch one day and not smell--whatever the hell it is you smell like. What is that?"

"Shut up, okay. It's not that bad," she lifted her arm, "It's not that--Okay, a shower is needed," the blonde got up, puffing her chest out to show that she wasn't ashamed of her lack of activity over the last few days, "But," she said, putting her a finger in both of their faces, "That doesn't mean that you guys get the couch. The couch is off limits. Got it?" she asked, heading towards the stairs. She took a few steps and then turned back to them, "Off--Limits."

Once the slayer was out of sight, and they heard a door close upstairs, they both turned to each other and laughed, "I'm telling you. It's the Summers gene," Kennedy said, covering her mouth, and trying to stop her laughter, "You're so right. She's losing it. First of all, I'm pretty sure the couch needs time to breath before anyone else sits on it, and I'm pretty sure that she's been drooling on that pillow for days now."

"Drooling on it, cuddling with it, crying on it. You name it, she's done it. Well, if you start naming things, maybe not, 'cause you automatically seem to head into the sex direction. Any other direction, and I'd be bound to say yes. You know, this is actually the second time I've done this," she said, heading into the kitchen, with Kennedy following. She knew that whatever they had stopped there for, it was probably upstairs, and neither she or Kennedy were going up there any time soon, so she decided to head into the kitchen, "The first time, I said it was Angel, and she told me to ask him what he wanted. She completely didn't notice that it was broad daylight, so it was pretty funny. Plus, the fact that she trust me to relay a message still blows my mind."

Kennedy sat at the island, watching as Dawn got the both of them a glass of juice, "Speaking of my sister, and all that good old drama going on within that love triangle…a fourth might be joining."

"What?" she frowned, "Oh…June?"

"That's not even the half of it," Kennedy sighed, "That would totally be fine. I don't care who my sister dates, as long as it doesn't mean I have to rescue her…or even see her."

"But this time you might?"

"According to some information I received earlier, yes. When I went to meet June at the library earlier, so she good give me some papers that I needed, I walked in to find her and Willow--alone. June left, almost immediately, and so I got suspicious. Thinking maybe that she had said something to Willow about the two of us working it out, because she's always telling me that she wants to talk to Willow, and clear things up a bit. Help us get back together, and what not."

"Not really seeing the bad here," Dawn interjected.

"If you let me finish," she rolled her eyes, "Anyways. I was thinking that it wasn't so bad either, I just didn't want her to go it. You know how I feel about the whole Willow situation right now. Along with the rest of my life. I'm not looking to fix anything, or reconcile, or whatever. I'm really good right where I am, at the moment, and I'd really like to just relax for a minute before I dive back into the pool of 'Scooby' drama. I swear, they are the most dramatic bunch of dorks I've ever seen…or hung out with. My friends back home, if you can call them that, we're all on the same level; whoever I'm sleeping with, or not sleeping with, is none of your business, going out drinking is a routine, and there's none of this heavy intervention bullshit."

"Get back to the point," Dawn said, anxiously.

"Right, the point. Willow tells me that June--Well, she's a witch," she saw the girl's jaw dropped, "Yeah, at first I thought she was trying to insult the girl but…"

"That's be like insulting herself. Calling herself a bitch. That's stupid."

She huffed, "Thanks. That's already been pointed out to me, minus the little insult at the end. Like I was saying…I told Willow that it was no big deal. She's a witch too, so I didn't get what the problem was."

"Well, why is she keeping it a secret?"

"Do you read minds, or something? That's exactly what Willow is wondering about. She said, that June told her that she's really powerful. That she was taught all this stuff by her uncle, who was like some head honcho in the magic department, so honcho that he was killed because of it. Because of what he taught her, she's super powerful to be so young."

"That sort of explains why she wouldn't tell," Dawn said, feeling the need to point things out that could somehow explain June's secretive life, "Maybe she thinks that telling people, especially people she doesn't really talk to will result in her own death. It's a pretty good reason, if you ask me."

"Oh, I played the whole 'stranger danger' card, but it didn't fly with Willow. She started to go on, and tell me some of the things that June said to her, which I of course got defensive about, thinking they were threats, but it turns out that they might--and I stress that--not be direct threats. They could be warnings, or something like that."

Dawn sat down, and got comfortable, ready to use what knowledge about the world of magic--which wasn't as much as she hoped it to be--so she could possibly figure out what was said, "Give me some detail here. There's something in the fact that I sneak into Giles' library to read his magic books when I skip, I might be able to help because of that little fact."

"Possibly," Kennedy said, thinking about whether she should get the younger girl involved or not. Dawn was very reliable, responsible, and trustworthy--when she wanted to be. Otherwise, you're screwed, she'd tell the world, if she could. This however didn't seem like that sort of case. This was serious. This didn't have any humiliating information wrapped within it, "Okay, well she told that she was powerful, which I've already stated, but did I mention the part where she basically said that neither Buffy or Faith could even touch, which I threatened with a bullet, 'cause she's human?"

"You didn't mention that," she said, as she pulled that bit of information in, "Go on."

"After that, she told Willow that she doesn't really know what's going on around her. With her friends or anything. And to look into the power within her. Then she said something real cryptic, and weird. I wrote it down, 'cause I was gonna ask Giles about it. I'm pretty sure that Willow's gonna try to go at this one alone, so I had to sneak and do it. It's a bit sloppy. I'll read it--You ready."

"Hit me--Not literally," she took a deep breath, "I'm ready."

"Okay, here it is," she straightened out the paper a bit more, and then read it aloud once again, "With blinding hair and a heart of gold, she will be the cause of all ends. A fight between one kind will begin, and from her death bed, she will think only of her dead lover. Knowing then, and only then, how to stop it all," she folded it back up, "Does that sound off any alarms in your head?"

"Not exactly. I mean, of course the whole 'death bed' and 'dead lover' catches my attention, along with the 'cause of all ends' but that's because it speaks of a possible future danger. Oddly enough, I'm pretty sure that I've heard something, or read something, that sounded like this before, or at least what little bit I could. It wasn't in English, so it was more of a catching-every-other-word-event, but still it sounds familiar somehow. Hmm. Is that all she said?"

"Apparently I caught June's attention before she could finish--she sensed me, or something--but Will has her theories. She thinks that what June said wasn't a direct threat, it was more like a warning that if Willow doesn't get to working on her own life, something bad might happen. When I told her that I would take care of it--with my bullet theory--she told me that she doesn't think that she's the target that June's got her eye on."

"Hmm. That's weird," she shook her head, "That doesn't make sense, though. It would be more obvious for the target to be either you, or Willow. From the day that she popped into our lives she's mostly had to do with you guys' lives, right? I mean, she got you to help her with her boyfriend issue--which might be a total load of sh-crap, and then she wanted to talk to Willow to 'fix it'--it's obviously one of."

"That's not what Will's thinking, and you have to admit that she's pretty good at this kind of stuff too. No offense, you're doing great."

"None taken," she said, as quickly as she could, wanting to get back to their newest topic, "Okay, if I'm wrong, and Willow think she knows, that means I'm missing something."

"Yep, you are," Kennedy said, nodding, "There's one more person that June has been talking to lately. The person who tips the scale a bit, effecting multiple things in the group; relationships, friendship. You name it."

Dawn thought for a second, searching through her bank of high school acquaintances, until she realized that they didn't go to high school at all. She gasped, "Oh, my, God. Willow thinks she's up to something, concerning Faith," they were both silent for a moment, turning away from each other's gazes, just for a moment, thinking silently. Then Dawn turned back to Kennedy. She put her hand on the other girl's shoulder, and looked her directly in the eye, "I know this is hard, but--You know what you have to do," with a nod, Kennedy stood up, and walked out of the kitchen, and then the front door, "Great, more drama," she mumbled, suddenly alone. She realized something, almost as instantly as Kennedy had walked out of the door; their was no second door closed upstairs, and the shower was never heard, "Oh, crap!" she got up and ran up the stairs, busting into every room upstairs, until finally she reached Buffy's, only to find the room empty, and the window wide open.

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Alright guys, that was the latest update. I hope you liked it. I'm sorry for any typo's, and now I'm off to bed. Next time, we'll get to see who gets to Faith first, what drama ensues from that even, how the day ends, and Willow gets confronted by Oz. Once again, I give thanks to everyone. I will try to post the next one/possible part 2 very soon. Please review, and have a great weekend. -ThomThom

Scaremonger: spreader of alarming rumors: somebody who deliberately spreads alarming rumors - related forms scare·mon·ger·ing, n


	15. Sideways Hesitation

Helloooo, welcome back. I hope that you guys are looking forward to reading this…get some questions answered . Shall we…okay, this chapter will be a little dramatic, because well…it has to be, considering the chapter that was right before it, but it won't be too dramatic, and it's short, so there you go. Um, thanks for my reviews, which mostly consists of you guys telling me how much you dislike June…they're hilarious. Thanks to all of the readers who don't review, I'm sure that you're also saying that you dislike June. No, I will not be explaining who June is in this chapter, so all of you will have to continue your moaning and groaning, which truly does entertain me. Anyways, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to review. -ThomThom

Chapter Eleven: Sideways Hesitation

Faith smothered her hair with a towel, drying it as much as she could without a blow-dryer, and then threw the towel in the sink. When she looked up at her reflection, seeing the bruise on her left cheek, she remembered the fight she had with some vampire the night before. Once again, she had been reckless, letting her emotions get the best of her, and had gotten pretty bruised up because of it. She touched it and winced, "Fuck, that was one hell of a punch," she grinned, "One hell of a fight."

After looking at herself for a little while longer, she went over to her bed and fell back onto it, staring up at the ceiling, which appeared to have some fresh cracks, "Damn neighbors. Is it so hard to mind the damn walls?" she yelled, only to get a 'shut the fuck up' in response, "This is the life," she whispered. Since Buffy had left her there, Faith had done nothing but sit around during the day, with the occasional trip to get some cigarettes, and patrolled at night, letting herself get closer to death each time. It was her way of dealing with things. There was no sister there to talk to, no best friend to call, and she sure as hell wasn't going to call her dad, "Out of the fucking question," she mumbled. Talking to herself had also become a habit, not that she hadn't done it before, she just did it more often then before. In two days she had managed to go slightly insane, almost get herself killed, and adapt to living completely alone. It was weird at first, a little too quiet for her taste, if someone wasn't having sex next door, but she eventually got used to it all and started to enjoy it.

"I could live like this," she said, with a nod, "The whole quiet thing is cool," just as she started to close her eyes, there was a knock at the door, "Forgot…the universe hates me. Hold up," she said, as they continued to knock. When she opened the door, she smiled a little, thinking, 'Not so alone after all,' she stepped aside and let the girl in, "Haven't seen you in a few days. Did you start to miss me?"

June sat down on the slayer's bed, "Not really. I'm here because I don't really have anywhere else to be at the moment. Something's happened. Something I didn't want to ever happen, but of course it did…There's always something that has to go wrong when my family's involved. Next stop…the grave."

"What are you talking about?" the slayer asked, frowning. She sat down next to the girl, but June rose quickly, and started to pace the room.

"She knows. She fucking knows," she said, with a little bit of anger, "I was so fucking careless. I mean, I basically threw it out for everyone to see, and now here I am."

"Figuring things out isn't really one of best qualities, sorry. June," she said, trying to be as soft spoken as possible, "what's going on?"

She stopped in her tracks, looking directly at Faith, "Willow knows I'm a witch, and I'm pretty sure that she's about to tell all of the rest of them too."

"Oh," she shrugged, "It sucks that your secret's out, but it doesn't put you in a life or death situation--not them knowing anyways. They're good people. Assholes really, but only in their own concerned kind of way. You've seen that first hand."

"You don't understand," she looked down, "After my uncle died--was killed, I told myself that I would never put myself in the situation he was in. Just knowing what I already know puts me in enough danger, having a bunch of loud mouth teenagers knowing only makes it worst. There are only a few people who know who I am, and none of them even live in this realm. It's like that for a reason."

"Which is what exactly?" Faith asked, "You're being extremely paranoid here, and I'm not exactly sure why. The fact that you're trying not to end up dead I totally get, but what I don't understand is why you think Willow and all of the other 'loud mouth teenagers' knowing could lead to you dying--or getting killed."

"There are certain things about me," June said, as she sat down next to Faith, "Things that aren't--not anything bad, but still--It's really dangerous for people, who aren't as powerful as me, to know these things. These things would definitely clear up all the suspicions that Willow has about me, but I still can't tell her. I can't tell anyone. I'd rather have all of them come after me, then put them in any danger…there's too much at risk"

"They're not going to come after you June," Faith said, trying to reassure the girl. Once again she had thrown into a situation she was very foreign to; having to comfort someone. It was strange but seeing June so worried, so lost, wasn't going well with her. They hadn't known each other long, but she felt that they had something. She didn't know what, but she knew it was there. The girl had, after all, trusted her enough to tell her her secret, though now she was even more unsure of why that was, "Hey, does that mean I'm in danger here? Not that I'm afraid, but you did kinda just tell me that you shouldn't be telling people things about you 'cause it puts them in danger," the girl just looked at her, "I'm kidding," she said, laughing uneasily, "You kind of came to the wrong person for this kind of stuff."

"There's nothing you can do about it anyways," the girl said, with a shrug, "I'll just have to deal with it all as it comes. Some things never change," she paused, looking into Faith's eyes, "Thanks for this."

"No problem," the slayer said, looking back at the girl, "I didn't really do anything, but still--" she smiled, "You're not going to kiss me, are you?"

June laughed, "No, I'm not," she grinned, "That would only get me into more trouble," after sitting there for a moment longer, she snapped her fingers, feeling a little better about her situation. At least she still had Faith's trust, "That's enough--for now."

Faith stared at the space that the girl had been in, thinking of what the girl had just told her. It seemed that her new life of being alone was officially over. There was no way that she was just going to let June wonder around worried all of the time. Sure, the girl was probably--no definitely--more powerful than her, but Faith was the one that was going to have to deal with the Scooby Gang, and she knew that from the moment that June said that Willow was suspicious of her. There was no question that June had secrets, she had just admitted it, but she didn't believe that she was a bad person. She hoped that she wasn't, because if she was, they'd soon be enemies.

There was a knock at the door, and she rose silently, still thinking of June, answering the door in a sort of trance. She came right out of it when she noticed who was standing in front of her, "Kennedy?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

June, who had only teleported herself across the street from Faith's, because she had sensed the younger sister's presence, watched uneasily as the girl walked in, and the door closed behind her. It worried her a bit that Kennedy was the one that went to notify Faith of the latest news surrounding herself considering the state of the two girl's relationship. She knew all about Kennedy refusing to talk to Faith, and telling her that they were no longer sisters, and she also knew that if Kennedy was concerned enough to put all of their issues aside, that problems were soon to follow. Things were definitely not going according to plan, if anything they were going against the plan completely. Her life was about to get extremely difficult if she didn't get control of the situation soon.

She sighed, knowing that someone was approaching her from behind, someone she immediately recognized, "Buffy Summers," she said, not turning to look at the slayer.

The fact that it was apparent that June was in no way afraid of her made Buffy even more angry than she already was. She didn't like feeling like she was weak, especially when she needed to be strong, "So it's true then. You're a witch."

"Since the day I was born," she still didn't turn.

Buffy walked around the girl and stood in front of her, "What do you want?" she asked.

"A car would be nice," she said, knowing that that wasn't really what the slayer was asking. Buffy grabbed her by the shirt, and pulled her closer. She could see the anger in the slayer's eyes, feel the beating of her heart, smell the fumes of rage, "You don't want to do that," she said, quietly, feeling no sort of rage herself. It wasn't the first time she had been in the sort of situation she was in, and she had learned to control her anger long ago, because it's a dangerous combination with magic, so she simply stood there, staring directly into the slayer's eyes.

"You gonna do something about it?" the slayer asked. June didn't respond, "See, I've heard about how powerful you are," she said, pulling harder at the girl's shirt, "but you'd be amazed at how I manage to take care of people who claim to be untouchable, like I've heard you claimed."

"It's strange that your kind is so aggressive," she said, keeping her calm, even though she didn't like being so close to the girl, "All of you slayers have been known for taking situations that have nothing to do with you into your own hands; not asking questions; all of those great reputations that you carry," she said, sarcastically, "Usually I wouldn't have a problem with that sort of thing, but I'm going to, if you refuse to let me go."

"Well, I guess you're going to have a problem then, 'cause I'm not letting you go until I'm ready to," she punched the girl in the stomach, and pushed her to the ground, "You see, sometimes I have a problem with people threatening the people I care about."

June sat up, breathing in deeply, and burying her raising anger. Around her hands, she could see black lightening spark to life, so she knew she needed to calm herself, "I didn't threaten anyone," she said, gritting her teeth.

"That's not what I've heard," she noticed the girl's hands, "You gonna put a spell on me?" she asked, wanting the girl to try anything; to give a reason to hurt her some more.

She shook her head, "I wouldn't do that, and you don't really want me to, despite what you're thinking right now."

"Stay out of my head," Buffy said, angrily.

"I know why you're really here," the witch said, digging deeper, "Who you're really trying to protect, and it has nothing to do with Willow, or any of your other so called friends. This is about Faith," she stood up, "You think I'm a threat to her, and that it's your duty to protect her, when you don't even have the slightest clue what's really going on."

"Seems like you've been saying that a lot," she said, standing her ground.

"And it's true each and every time, but I'm not done."

"I have a feeling that you're far from it," the slayer said.

June laughed, "You have no idea."

Buffy took a step closer to the girl, "When you say things like that, all I hear is a threat."

"I don't get it. Why can't you just admit that you're scared?" she saw that the question threw Buffy, that somewhere within the slayer, a wall had just begun to crumble, "Not only are you scared right now; of me, at this very moment, but you're always scared. Every day when you wake up, you're scared that it will be your last. That the curse of the slayer dying young will finally come true…you're scared, and yet--you long for it too. We won't talk about that though, we're going to stick with the fear."

"Shut up," she yelled, "I know what you're doing."

"Do you?" she asked.

"You're trying to break me."

"Am I?" she took another step, "I'm thinking that what I'm doing has nothing to do with breaking you," she paused, "I'm waking you up. All of you, because you have a long fucking road ahead of you, and all of you are too fucking consumed in drama to know what's coming. I've seen it--I've been there. God--" she sighed, "You don't know what fear is."

In the girl's eyes, Buffy saw something she hadn't noticed before; sadness, "What are you talking about?" she asked, "If you're not one of the bad guys, and you know what's coming, I'm the person you should be talking to. This is my job. It's who I am. Convince me that you're not someone I should be trying to kill right now."

"You should tell her," she said, unwilling to answer Buffy's question, "Tell her that you love her…even if you don't, tell her before it's too late--Before she's gone. I can't tell you what will happen if you don't," June turned to walk away, "I'm not telling you to go into a panic, and try to figure out what I'm saying--there's something more urgent heading your way that's more important--I'm just telling you to open your eyes, because if you don't, you could lose everything--everyone. Try to keep everyone safe, they'll all be needed in the end."

She vanished. Just as Buffy opened her mouth, the girl vanished. Turning towards Faith's, the blonde slayer exhaled deeply, "Another apocalypse, just what I need."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"I'm just saying that she can't be trusted," Kennedy yelled.

"What? Because she doesn't want everyone to know her business?" she yelled back. From the moment Kennedy had opened her mouth and started to talk about June, they had not stopped yelling at each other, and she knew it was going to end well. When she first saw her sister at her door, she was just shocked, completely shocked, but then she figured out why the girl was there, and the shock wore off. Of course she'd come to spread the news, it didn't mean that things would get better between them, it meant that it would get worse.

"No, because she's obviously not who she says she is. With what I've told you, I thought you'd see that too. She came to you already, didn't she? That's the only way you could be acting so naïve, considering that you're the mascot for the 'trust-no-one' club. What'd she tell you, Faith?"

"Look Kenn, I don't want to fight with you. We've already got enough going on between us, don't add this to the list. Just leave it."

"Just leave it? Have you ever known me to just leave anything?" she crossed her arms, "You can't turn your head on this, Faith. This is serious, more serious than you're willing to acknowledge. I know that the two of you have been spending a little bit of time together, but that doesn't mean that you should ignore what's right in front of you. It's not like you're the only one that considered her to be a friend. I've spent more time with her than you have, and Dawn has talked to her a few times. It sucks, but she's a threat. We should be on high alert, just incase something happens. You know I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think this was serious. Willow thinks that June might have some plans concerning you…I'm not going to just sit back and let this girl go after my sister."

"Hmm, I thought we weren't sisters anymore," Faith said, harshly, "I believe it was you that said that, am I right? All of a sudden we are again?"

"Are you fucking serious?" Kennedy rolled her eyes, "You're not using this against me when I'm just trying to help you. I'm here to make sure you don't end up dead somewhere, Faith. Just fucking listen to me."

"I have been listening. You know what I'm hearing right now? I'm hearing that you've turned into one of those judgmental assholes that you hang out with. This girl is scared, Kennedy. She's scared of what you're doing right now; going around spreading the news when you don't even know what you're talking about. All she wants is to be left alone, and not end up dead."

"If she's not evil, she won't end up dead. If she is--Well, you know how it works. You're a slayer, or at least you used to be. I'm not so sure what you are now really, but I do know one thing--You're just as dumb as ever, and I shouldn't have come here. These people that your friend is so afraid of, they're the one's that told me I should warn you; they're the ones that told me it was the right thing to do. Now, I'm not so sure. In fact, I'm thinking it was a complete waste of time," she walked to the door, "If anyone gets hurt because you refused to see the warning signs, you'll regret it. I'm personally going to make sure of that."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Willow sat flipping through yet another book, searching for anything that resembled what June had said to her. She had been looking for hours, while the school slowly turned to silence. Giles had told her that she could stay as long as she wanted, after she told him that she was just looking more into the magic within her, which he didn't exactly like, but preferred she read about it and not just try spells, so he left her there, trusting her to put everything back in its place when she was done.

Sadly, she had found nothing, absolutely nothing. Any time that she thought she had, it turned out to be something that she couldn't use, "This is not working," she mumbled, as she turned the page. When she heard the sound of footsteps she looked up, a little worried about who was heading her way, "Oz," she said, with a forced smile, "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that question," he said, with a slight smile, as he approached her. He knelt down and gave her a quick kiss, "I've been looking for you. It was weird when your mom told me you were here. Usually you tell me when you're going into research mode, so I can help."

"Oh, yeah," she said, simply. She was trying to consider what she was and wasn't going to tell him about her 'interesting' day. There was a reason she hadn't told him that she was going to do some heavy reading after school, because she didn't want him to know; she didn't want him to ask questions; she didn't want to answer the questions, "Sorry, I didn't really think about it."

"That's okay," he pulled a chair over and sat down next to her, "What are you researching?"

"Nothing really. I'm just looking into some magic stuff, trying to advance a bit. You know, I've sort of been stuck on the level I'm on--I thought it was time to go up a few," she said, with a smile.

"Really? Why now?" he asked, "Is something going on?"

Question one--one she didn't want to answer, "No, nothing's going on. Well, nothing that threatens to end the world, or anything like that. I just--It's just time to move forward," she sighed, "There's a certain person that told me that I need to look into the magic within me," she said, hitting the tip of the iceberg.

He frowned, "Who?"

"Well, she you know, told me that she was a witch, and that she's extremely powerful," she said, going into a panic babble fest, "Which means I need to get to practicing 'cause I don't trust her, and she told me that I don't know what's going on, and to look into the magic, and then--"

"Who are you talking about, Willow?" he cut in.

She swallowed hard, "June."

"June?" he stood up, "June's a witch," he closed the book she was looking at.

"Hey," she said, looking up at him, shocked, "What'd you do that for? I was reading that. You've lost my page."

"Why won't you just admit why you're really doing this?" he asked. She looked at him with a blank expression, "Are you really telling me you haven't even figured it out…or do you think I'm just that stupid?"

"Oz…"

"You're doing this because you want to compete with the girl that you think Kennedy has feelings for. It's so obvious Willow."

"Oz, that's not what it is. I'm looking into this because I need to," she said, honestly, "June told me that--"

"Willow--No matter what she said to you, you can't deny that you are trying to compete with her," she said nothing, "So it is that you think I'm that stupid then. That I can't see what's going on in front of me. I know that something is going on with you and Kennedy--I always have, from the moment she showed up with Faith, and you couldn't look at her without your whole face turning as red as your hair. I've been trying to ignore it, because I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, but this--this just pushes me over that edge. That edge that tells me that I already have. Willow," he said, softly, losing his usual emotionless demeanor, "I know that you care about Kennedy, and not just in a friend way. I know that; I get that; I can deal with that, but what I can't deal with is you lying to me about it…have you ever--ever cheated on me?"

For some reason, she hadn't expected any part of the situation to ever really occur. Willow had always thought that if Oz was going to find out about her thing with Kennedy, it would be because she'd finally admit it to him, and be able to let him down as easily as possible. Instead, she was looking into his eyes, and watching him break.

She looked down, "Yes," she admitted. Unlike what Buffy had felt when everyone found out about Angel--minus Faith, Willow didn't feel better now that her secret was out, she felt worse actually.

He looked away from her, "Are you still cheating?"

Willow thought about her current situation with Kennedy, then about the kiss they had shared, the one she initiated, and then their time together earlier that day. Nothing had happened. There hadn't been a kiss, or a serious love confession, nothing like that at all. Was the fact that they had kissed really a reason to say that she was still cheating? Could she stand seeing Oz that hurt when her and Kennedy might never get back together again?

She looked into his eyes, "No."

Oz nodded, taking that answer into consideration, "Is it over?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, without hesitation, though it hurt her to say it.

After staring into her eyes, looking for anything he could find, he said, "Good," and then left.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Kennedy walked into the Summers house, sighing with relief. She was finally home, though it wasn't really her home. After walking around for a while, as the sky turned black, and thinking about the fact that her real home--her sister, was probably lost, she thought of the one place that really felt like home to her. Her parents' house, now only her father's, had always been just that; her parents' house--well, mansion. She never really felt home there, which is why when her and Faith's watcher died, they left. There was nothing really there for them anyways. Even when they went home, after leaving Sunnydale the first time, it wasn't really home to her. It was nice seeing her parents, especially the newer nicer versions of them, but at night, she still thought of the Summers house. The place where she was loved, even though she didn't really belong there. She wasn't family, but she felt like she was, and that was enough. That was what she needed. What she wanted.

As she walked in, putting her jacket on the coat rack, which she reached out for in the dark, having the whole house mapped out in her head. The whole house, minus the light coming from the living room, seemed to be sleeping, the only sound coming from the TV in the living room, which made her roll her eyes. She knew that if the TV was on, as late as it was, Buffy was probably back on the couch, and that her and Dawn were probably going to have to drag her out of the house the following morning. Being part of the 'family' gave her the right to do things like that; to do what was best for the slayer, especially considering that they'd need her if things were to get chaotic in Sunnydale.

She rounded the corner and walked into the living room, a little taken back by what she saw. Not only was Buffy on the couch, so was Dawn, and Joyce, "Family movie night?" she asked, slightly saddened.

Dawn, who had a huge bowl of popcorn in her lap, grabbed a hand full and lifted it to her mouth, "We tried to wait for you, but you were taking too long, and Mom's gotta go to work tomorrow."

Buffy reached across her mother, trying to grab the popcorn from Dawn, but Joyce got it before she could, "Hey, we're supposed to be sharing here," she said, keeping her eyes on the television, "Kennedy," she said, scooting over, which mad Joyce scoot over, and then Dawn, making a space next to the youngest Summers, "Sit down, you're distracting me by just standing there."

Kennedy smiled, "With that sort of invitation, how could I refuse?" she asked, sitting next to Dawn. She looked at the three of them, each of them staring at the screen while stuffing popcorn into their mouths, feeling an overwhelming joy within her. With a smile still on her face, she turned towards the television, "Pass the popcorn."

After a while, Joyce stood up, stretching and yawning, "Okay, girls, I'm not gonna make it."

"Come on," they all whined.

"Sorry, I can't stay up as late as you guys," the woman said, mimicking their whine, "Plus I have to go in early tomorrow," she leaned down and kissed both of her daughters on the head, then she stopped in front of Kennedy. They looked at each other for a moment, then she leaned down and kissed her on the head, too, "Goodnight girl's, I love you--all of you," she walked out, and started up the stairs, "Don't stay up too late, you have school tomorrow."

Kennedy grabbed another handful, "You going, Buffy?" she asked.

"Yep," the slayer said, taking the bowl of popcorn.

Dawn looked to Kennedy, "How'd it go?" she asked.

"How'd what go?" Buffy asked, knowing full well what they were talking about. When she had come back home, she had told Dawn that she just went for a walk to clear her head, to think about everything that she was going through, and figure out what she was going to do next. At first, she wasn't sure that her sister was buying it, but when the girl asked what she had decided to do, and told her that it was a good plan, she knew that she was covered.

"Oh, yeah," Dawn said, turning to her sister, with an awkward smile, "I forgot to tell you--" her and Kennedy told the blonde slayer what had happened, all while Buffy just stared at them, and ate some popcorn. She hadn't really forgotten to tell her, she just didn't want to do it without seeing that Kennedy came back in one piece, and that her and Faith hadn't ripped each other apart. It's not that she necessarily expected the sisters to fight, she just knew it was a possibility that things would go wrong. Then she had to consider what Buffy had told her she decided to do. She didn't want those plans to change, they were good plans. Plans that she thought she stay intact.

"How'd she take it?" Buffy asked.

Kennedy shrugged, "She didn't. Faith thinks that we're being judgmental, and paranoid. I tried to tell her that she should just admit that it's possible that June is evil, and I think she knows that, but she refused to admit it. According to her, June is just scared, and doesn't want to end up dead, which is a possibility, but I'm still thinking something's not right. If I'm right, and we can't get my sister to see it, I have a feeling we'll end up having to go through Faith to get to June. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

Buffy thought about her talk with June, and what Kennedy was saying to her. One thing she knew was that June was scared, of what, she didn't know, but she knew the girl was scared. Faith hadn't been wrong about that, but she was also with Kennedy…something wasn't right. She could have told them what she knew; what had happened earlier, but the sound of June's voice telling her to keep everyone safe kept echoing in her head, along with her telling her to tell 'her' that she loved her. She knew who her was, it was Faith, there was no other her in her life. Then there was the fact that June told her that something more urgent coming. They needed to focus on that first, and deal with what ever came next after that. In the mean time, she'd do just what the girl had said; she'd keep everyone safe.

Dawn looked between the two of them, neither one of them seeming to be in the room anymore, "Let's hope it doesn't."

--TO BE CONTINUED--

See, it's short. I hope that the chapter was okay…I actually cut out a scent, with June and Catherine, because I thought it was a horrible way to end--and because it was too…too early for it. Anyways, I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be my version of 'Lovers Walk', which I have yet to re-watch, so I have no clue what I'll be doing with it. That should be up soon. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom


	16. There There

Hello, everyone. I am proud to present you with yet another 're-make' sort of chapter. It took me a minute to figure out how exactly I was going to be able to do this, and then even longer to figure out a title…which I will get to in a second. Since the episode was so heavily laced with Xander…and the whole Willow thing, I had to decide how I was going to deal with that, especially considering the episode that follows (The Wish), and I finally figured it out. I hope that you guys are satisfied with how I handled the 'situation', and all its gravity, not to mention all of the things that I've added, that I'm sure each and every one of you will question. As for the title, it is a song by Radiohead, and I chose it, because of its sort of saying that just because you feel something, that doesn't necessarily mean it's there, and its allusion to the 'The Odyssey' by homer. There's a part of the song…'There's always a siren singing you to shipwreck'…that I think really fits Willow's situation with Kennedy, and then the following part…'Steer away from these rocks we'd be a walking disaster'…sort of fits everyone's situation by the end of the episode, and Spikes situation at the beginning. So, there you go…Not to mention a scene in which it is said. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. remember that S.A.T. scoring was different in the 90's. Sorry for any typos.

Chapter Twelve: There There

The campus was buzzing, as everyone walked around gripping, and sharing their S.A.T. scores. There were the ones that knew they were going to do horrible, thinking about how they weren't ever going to go anywhere in life; there were the ones that did amazing, going to show all of their favorite teachers, starting a discussion about what dream university they wanted to go to; there were the ones who had no idea what they were going to do, but did well enough; then there was Willow.

"This is a nightmare," she said, as she, Xander, and Kennedy walked on the front lawn of the school, "This is…My world is spinning."

"Just don't pass out, I'm not in the catching state," Kennedy said, laughing, "Had a little too much fun last night. It was like--" she stopped, seeing that Willow, who already had been in a panic, looked even more panicked, "And you don't want to hear about this, do you?"

Xander put his arm around Willow's shoulder, "It's not that bad, Willow, really," he said, with a nod.

She shrugged him off, with a horrified expression, "740, verbal? I'm pathetic! Illiterate! I'm Cletus, the Slack-Jawed Yokel."

Kennedy laughed, "That has to be a Jewish thing."

He rolled his eyes at Kennedy's lack of helping, and looked down at his scores, "That's right, Will. And the fact that your 740, verbal closely resembles my combined scores in no way compromises your position as the village idiot."

Willow sent down on one of the cement, backless benches that lined the sidewalk that led inside the school where she thought she had enough knowledge acquired to even be amazed herself, when she received her S.A.T. scores. She had been amazed alright--amazed at how low they were, "I just…Where did I go wrong?"

Xander looked at Kennedy, who just stood there with her arms folded, doing absolutely nothing, and seeming not to care. When she gave him a questioning look, he lifted his brows towards Willow, telling her to do something, which she did, with a sigh. It wasn't that she didn't want to be helpful when a friend was in need, but she knew for a fact that Willow was over reacting. She sat down, and put her arm around the girl, "Look, Will, you're just overreacting. You did amazing, and that's nothing new," she gave her best grin, "You're sexy when you pout."

"Kenn--" she said, swatting the girl playfully with a smile. She laid her head on Kennedy's shoulder, truly feeling as though she was a failure. It was innocent really--or at least that's how it began, but then she started to think that she never wanted to leave the girl's embrace; never wanted to let go of the warmth she felt inside when Kennedy touched her.

Looking down at them, part of Xander was happy to see that Kennedy had somewhat got the job done. Willow had smiled, and that was more than what he got from her when he was trying to comfort her, but another part of him felt--felt jealous. Not only had he realized he had feelings for his best friend when she already had a boyfriend, but also when she fell in love with Kennedy, too. Just as he started to push those thoughts away, he looked up to see that Oz and Cordelia were heading their way.

"Did you guys get your scores?" Cordelia asked.

"Cordelia! Oz!" he said, making sure that Willow and Kennedy knew who was heading their way. Willow sat up immediately, which wasn't surprising, while Kennedy kept her arm around Willow, and greeted the two with a smile, "Willow is very sad…" he continued, hoping that Kennedy would get up, but she didn't, "by her academic failure."

"Not failure," Kennedy said, giving Willow's shoulders a quick squeeze before she removed her arm from around them, "mishap. A simple mishap."

"Right," Willow said, looking to Oz, who had no sign of emotion on his face, which was good--if his mind wasn't exploding. It wasn't her fault that Kennedy wanted to be friends, that was what she had said when they had 'broken up' even. She wasn't going to tell her to get lost. Sure, she could, but really--She couldn't.

"How did you do?" Xander asked, taking Cordelia's scores from her hand. He looked it over, with a frown, "This is not good."

"What's not good?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.

He looked at her, "I'm just worried that it may hurt my standing as campus stud when people find out I'm dating a brain."

She yanked the paper out of his hands, and began to fold it up, "Please. I have some experience…in covering these things up."

"Wow," Kennedy said, staring at the two of them, "That is some relationship you guys have."

"Says the girl who's not in one," Cordelia glared.

She shrugged, "Yeah, well--"

Oz looked at Willow's scores, and then gave them back to her, "I can see why you'd be upset," he said, in a flat tone. Willow looked at him, in shock, "That was my sarcastic voice."

"Huh," Xander said, pointing at the other boy, "It sounds a lot like your regular voice."

"And your everything else voice," Kennedy said, as she stood up, stretching a bit.

"I've been told that," he said, in the same flat tone, "We should celebrate."

"Your monotone voice?" Kennedy asked, "Never been to that kind of party."

"No, I mean, everyone's scores. We should do something," he paused, looking to Kennedy, "What'd you make?"

"Oh," Xander began, "She's too cool to reveal that. Both Willow and I tried to pry it out of her, but she just refuses to talk. Then we went to Dawn for info, she knows nothing."

"I like to stay a mystery," the girl said, with a grin, "It keeps people guessing."

Getting back to the surprise celebration idea, and her lack of wanting to do it, Cordelia cleared her throat, "Wait, this whole celebration thing," she paused, looking at Kennedy, who was the only single one, "Like, the four of us?" she asked, pointing to all the people in relationships, and mouthing no to Xander, while everyone was looking away, except for him.

"A double date!" Xander said, excitedly, "It could have potential," he looked to Kennedy, who was looking to the side, "Unless you meant all of us," he said, glancing at Oz for a second, before looking back to Kennedy, who was frowning at him, "I'm sure you could find someone to bring."

"Strangely," she said, folding her arms, "I feel slightly insulted," she paused, pretending to think, and relaxed, "Uh, I don't know, though…"

"Come on. It'll be fun," he said, in a sort of plea.

She rolled her eyes, "Sure. I guess," she looked to Willow, as Xander went on with some ideas, trying to see if any sort of expression would tell her to refuse the invitation, and just say that she had other plans, but Willow wouldn't look at her, which she could have took as a way of the redhead telling her not to come, but she wasn't going to. There was no way that she was going to let things forever be awkward between them, and the only way to fix that was to show that they could be together without having to be--well, together.

Seeing that Buffy was approaching, Willow stood up, "Buffy! Hey, did you get your S.A.T. scores?" she asked, excited. She knew how hard her friend had studied, so she had high hopes that Buffy did okay, but as she looked at her friend's expression, she wasn't so sure.

Xander also picked up on the slayer's somewhat worried expression, "By the look on your face, I'm guessing you and I are going to be manning the drive-thru window side by side."

"Ah," Kennedy smiled, "The dream job of every American."

Buffy pulled her scores out of her purse and handed them to Willow, "They're just test scores, right? What do they really mean, anyway?"

"I've been told that they're pretty important, actually," Kennedy said, sarcastically, "But it doesn't mean anything if you want to be a bum, or any other sort of dead-beat. There's always the child support route."

"Shush, you," Willow said, looking at Kennedy. Then she looked back a t the scores, reading over them more quickly now that Kennedy was silent. She looked at the slayer suddenly, with a large smile on her face, "1430! Buffy, you kicked ass!" everyone looked at her funny, and she blushed, "Ok, so academic achievement gets me a little excited."

"A good dare also works if you want to hear a few choice words from this one," Kennedy interjected.

"Buffy, that's amazing," Xander grabbed the paper, "Let me see that."

"Yeah. With scores like that…you can apply pretty much anywhere you want. Buffy, this could change your whole future," Willow said, wondering why her friend looked more horrified by the second.

"The thought had occurred to me," Buffy said.

Xander handed the paper to his girlfriend, still looking at his friend, "Then why the sour puss?"

"I don't know. I guess…my future," she exhaled deeply, "I never really thought about it. I wasn't even sure I was going to have one."

"I think it's great," Cordelia admitted, "Now you can leave and never come back!" everyone looked at her, and she realized how what she said might have sounded, "Well, I mean that in a positive way."

Kennedy leaned towards Buffy, "She says that," she whispered, "But really, I'm thinking she meant it in a not so good way."

"Thanks Kennedy," Buffy said, with a fake smile.

"No problem," she said, returning the smile.

"I now know where my sister gets that from."

"No," Cordelia said, glaring at Kennedy, "Get out of Sunnydale. That's a good thing. What kind of moron would ever want to come back here?" she asked, explaining what she had meant.

"I came back," Kennedy reminded.

Cordelia huffed, "You're psychotic."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

His car slammed into the welcoming sign, notifying him that he had reached his destination. The town of Sunnydale, a place he never thought he'd see again, and yet there he was. He pushed his door open and the bottle of whatever type of alcohol he was drinking, not even he knew, fell crashing to the ground, and then he too fell out. He lifted his head, his bleached hair still in tact, and looked about him, "Home…sweet…home," he managed, in his British accent.

After lying there for a moment, because he had passed out from being so drunk, he stood up and reached into his car, searching for another bottle of alcohol, and then, after realizing that he wasn't near the place he wanted to go to, he got into his car and drove around until he saw it, "There you are," he said, spotting the factory. He got out of the car, taking the bottle with him, and made his way inside, stepping over debris, "And more," he sang, gripping the bottle as he did, "Much more than this. I did it my way," seeing the stairs that lead into the basement, the place where him and Drucsilla had slept, he stopped singing, and stumbled down, "Druscilla! I'm home!" he laughed, and then started to sob. After he took a quick swig, he threw the bottle aside with a loud crash, and walked over to a stand, past the canopy bed they had laid in, where the dolls the woman had once carried around still laid.

He picked one of them up, naked just like the rest of them, and dirty, "Why did you do it, baby?" he asked, "Why did you leave me? We were happy here," he shook his head, vamping as he did, and threw the doll around, grabbing a long mettle candle holder as he did. Going into more of a state of insanity, he started to hit the porcelain doll repeatedly, first breaking its head, "You…stupid…bitch! Look what you've done to me."

She appeared in the room, grateful that she had gotten the time line correct, and that he was actually there. Even more to her surprise, he didn't even notice that she was there as he continued to hit a doll that was on the ground, 'Too drunk to notice,' she assumed, thinking to herself. It was quite entertaining to watch someone with hid reputation in such a state--William the Bloody. Oh, yeah, she had heard of him, more than heard of him really, but who she was seeing at the moment was a completely different person. She knew all about his dark past, mass murder, and such. But, she also knew what was ahead of him; his future of an odd sort.

"I think I know someone who can help you," she said, getting his attention.

He turns to her, stumbling a bit, and frowns. She was a young girl, he could see it, and smell it, now that he knew she was in the room, but power rolled off of her in waves, so he knew not to attack her. Not when he was too drunk to even notice when someone else was in the room with him, "And who the hell are you?" he asked, "The new big one in town looking to let me in on it?" she said nothing, did nothing, all she did was stare, and that made him a little uneasy, "Well I ain't lookin', all right? I'm not looking to be anyone's bitch," he waved her away dramatically, but of course she didn't' leave, "So go on girlie. Mum's probably lookin' for ya, so skip along."

"I'm not much of a skipper," she said, laughing, "But I'm sure you are looking to be someone's bitch…Druscilla's perhaps?" he ran across the room, not phasing her a bit, and grabbed her by the throat. She smiled harder, to his obvious surprise, and then grabbed his throat and began to squeeze it so hard that they could both hear it begin to crack. Then she broke into his mind, 'You really think you can kill me?' she asked, telepathically. With her free hand, she hit him hard across the face, and he let go of her, falling to the ground, "See," she said, rubbing her throat, "Do you really think I'd come here if you had any chance of killing me?" he stood up, staring at her, and touching his new bruise on his cheek, "Willow Rosenberg," she said, getting to back to why she was really there, "She's your girl--"

He cut her off, "I don't who the hell, or what the hell, you are, but I don't need your sodden help, and I don't need any from one of the slayer's pets either."

She turned away from him, "Sure," she laughed, "I'll be seeing you, William."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Come on. It'll be fun," Xander said, watching as Cordelia got some things out of her locker.

"I don't know," she said, uneasily, "I just thought we were going to do something…you know, classy."

"What's classier than bowling," he asked.

She gave him a look, "Apart from everything ever? Let's see…" going back to her locker, she thought back to earlier that morning, when her and Oz walked upon an awfully cozy Willow and Kennedy. She had looked to Oz, wondering if he wore the same perplexed expression she was wearing, but as usual he was pretty unreadable. Thinking that the two would jump up if they knew that they were approaching, she let their presence be known by asking about everyone else's scores, but there was no guilt driven separation. Kennedy had sat there, with her arm still around Willow, and a smile on her face, and Willow stayed locked in her mopey world of lower than expected test scores. It was like they were forgetting that they had a history. A history that maybe made it a little wrong to get all cuddly. Then Xander coming up with an excuse for them had only made her mad. He was always taking up for his best friends bad behavior, and it was starting to work her nerves.

"Plus, I don't think it's such a good idea for 'all' of us to go anywhere together," she said, giving him a knowing look, "I don't like you being all aiding when it comes to Willow and Kennedy."

"What?" he asked, shocked by the sudden change of subject. Then he realized what she was talking about, "Oh, this morning. No, Willow was really upset, and Kennedy was just trying to make her feel better."

"And you don't think the fact that Kennedy was the only one that could do it is wrong?" she asked, "I mean, didn't you notice that Oz's attempt at comforting, though very subtle, didn't really have any sort of an affect? But when Kennedy spoke up, about anything, it brought Willow out of her mood. I'm just saying--"

"Look, I promise you that there's nothing going on with those two. Whatever was going on, it's over with. No more sneaking, or anything like that. They're friends, or at least they're trying to be, and everyone going around being all angry and suspicious isn't going to help the situation at all," he sighed, "I'm sorry if I upset you."

She smiled, "Good, you better be."

"Now, back to bowling," he said, making her laugh, "Oz and Willow are down. You're the swing vote, really," he went to the other side of her, leaning on the lockers, "I guarantee fun," he said, making her laugh once again, though this time in a more sarcastic manor. Then he was distracted by something he hadn't expected to see. There were pictures in his girlfriend's locker, lots of pictures, with him in them. The top picture was just the two of them, both with smiles on their faces, the middle left one was just of him, the middle right was her, with Willow laughing in the background, and then the bottom one--It was of him, her, Oz, and Willow, "Hey, those are pictures from the pier," he said, still shocked, and also a little sad with guilt, "There's pictures. Of me. In your locker. I never knew I was locker-door material."

Cordelia gave him a weird look, and closed the locker, pulling him to walk with her, "Well…just barely. Besides, I look really cute in those pictures," she smiled. Then she looked to Willow and Oz, who were walking towards them hand in hand.

"Hey," Oz said, as they stopped walking, "So what's the verdict? Do we bowl?"

"We bowl," Xander said, excitedly.

"Great! Triple bowling date," the redhead said, also excited, "'Cause Kenn's in too," she added. That part worried a bit, as it should have. It wasn't like it was just another friend tagging along--though they were gradually going into the friend stage--it was a friend that she happened to also be in love with. And supposed to be seeing less. But Oz hadn't objected. Not one bit. So she wasn't sure if she should say that it was a bad idea for Kennedy to come, or not. If she didn't say anything, there could be problems, but there could also be problems if she did. She figured that if she went to Oz and said it would be awkward, and risky, that he'd see it as her not being able to resist Kennedy, and their 'affair' not being completely over with, which it was! Sort of.

"Wow," Cordelia said, thinking about Kennedy agreeing to go bowling, "She was suckered into it too? Doesn't seem like the bowling type."

They laughed, and then Willow put her hand on Oz's chest, "Oh, I'm on Oz's team," she declared, remembering that teams were going to be an aspect of the night's events. Couples against couples.

"Yeah? Well, prepare to be crushed," Xander said, confidently. Then he looked his girlfriend, "Maybe we should practice."

They started to walk away, "Yeah," Cordelia agreed.

Willow and Oz walked over to Willow's locker, undoing their laced fingers, "They don't stand a chance," she said, with a smile, "I'm really good. Or I used to be," she said, opening her locker, "when they had the inflatable things in the gutters," she looked to him to see that he was holding something. It was small, and wrapped in newspaper, "What's this?"

"It's a gift," he handed it to her.

"What's the occasion?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't something like an anniversary of type that she had forgotten.

"Pretty much you are," he answered.

She smiled, and then unwrapped it, gasping when she saw what was inside, "It's a little Pez witch," she said, taking it completely out of the newspaper. It was a traditional Pez candy holder, but with a witch, only obvious by the black hat, the nose, and the color of her face…and she loved it.

"It's kind of a theme present," he pointed out, "And a way of me sayin--I forgive you," he paused when she looked up at him, "Things have been pretty on track over the past couple of weeks. I figure--Why not. Do you like it?"

"I like…I--I more than like. Oz, this is probably the sweetest--We have to find a little Pez werewolf…so little Pez witch can have a boyfriend," she smiled. It had been 'pretty on track' over the past few weeks, and she had made sure of that. It wasn't like she didn't care about Oz too, she did--She loved both of them, just for different reasons. Kennedy had told her that they were just going to be friends, so why not secure her other relationship?

"I don't think they make a werewolf Pez. You might have to settle for a wacky cartoon dog."

She looked at her gift, "This is…just so thoughtful."

He looked at her with an intensely, "Well, I think about you."

"Oh…I don't have anything to give you," she said, sadly.

"Yeah--You do," he stood there for a moment, and then walked away, leaving Willow standing there watching him as he left.

Kennedy, having heard that last bit, walked up behind Willow, with a grin on her face, "He means sex," Willow turned to her, with a horrified expression, breaking her laughter, "Too far…and awkward?"

"A little bit," Willow said, getting the rest of what she needed out of her locker, and setting her Pez down in it safely for her to get at the end of the day, "By a little, I mean a lot by the way."

"Dually noted," Kennedy said, with a slight nod, "So , I was thinking about the whole tripple date thing, and I'm pretty sure bringing a date would be a little weird…for you, I mean," she said, seeing Willow hesitate while continuing what she was doing, "So I'm thinking of just seeing if Dawnie wants to tag along. I think she'd have fun--She doesn't have many friends so--You know?"

She closed her locker, and turned to Kennedy, "Uh, yeah," she said, feeling herself melt inside. Yet another thing that she loved about Kennedy. Even with her hard exterior, or what she claimed to be her hard exterior, there was that really sweet, considerate part of her, which she got to see a lot when it concerned Dawn, "I think that's great…The whole inviting part, not the friendless--Not that she's friendless, 'cause hello, you, and--Me! Of course--" she exhaled, trying to stop her babbling, "It's sweet of you," she finally managed.

Kennedy laughed, "So we're good, then?" she asked, as she started to back away, "There's no issue with this?"

"No," Willow said, watching her intently, "We are good."

"Good. I'll see you later," with the smile still on her face, she turned and kept in her direction, "This is working out well," she thought to herself, "I can do this whole friend thing."

Willow gulped, "Great…," she turned to go in the other direction, sighing as she did, "this isn't working."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

In the library, Buffy and Giles were still on the topic of test scores, "Buffy, this is remarkable," he said, looking down at the piece of paper.

Buffy, who was sitting on an arm of a chair, with her feet in the chair, was more focused on a strange object she had taken off of the table, which was covered in camping gear. In her hand was something she couldn't quite place, it was some sort of strange contraption connect to a metal spray can, "So is this," she said, looking at it, "Where is this retreat thingy, the Yukon?" she put it down, and began to look at some of the other things on the table.

"It's quite nearby, actually," he said, ignoring what she was getting at, "It's the clearing at the top of Breaker's Woods. It's the sight of some fascinating Druidic rituals," he started to continue his explanation on the Celtic way of doing certain rituals, but when he looked to the slayer, she didn't seem to really be paying attention to him as she looked at yet another thing she could see no use for. Then she picked up a sort of compact mirror and was more fascinated by her own reflection.

"Ok, but you're just going for a few days, right" she asked, closing the compact, "I mean, you're not going to settle there and grow crops or anything?" she asked, hinting towards the heap of things on the table. He took the compact out of her hand, while glaring, and she continues to eye his things questioningly.

"What?" he follows her eyes, "Oh, my gear. No, this is--this is basic necessities."

"Giles," she said, sensing his inability to come up with a more convincing explanation, "you pack like me."

He laughed awkwardly, and handed her the test scores, "Here. I suspect your mother will want to put it on the refrigerator."

She put them in her purse, "Yeah. She saw these scores, and her head spun around and exploded."

Giles stopped moving, and looked at her, "I've been on the Hellmouth too long. That was metaphorical, yes?"

"Yes," she nodded, "She was happy," she watched as he walked into the cage, and then looked down, "She started with all this crazy talk about me going to college…maybe someplace else. I know. I know," she said, without even giving him the chance to object, "I said that you were going to have a goat. Responsibilities and all. I know the drill."

He grabbed a book from a shelf, within the cage, slowly, "She may be right," he said, turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I know I figured you'd--" a beat, "Okay. Be kind, rewind."

The man walked out of the cage, bringing himself to say what he was about to say, "With scores like these, Buffy…you could have a first-rate education. I'm not suggesting that you ignore your calling, but," he walked over to his things, putting the book inside one of his bags, "you need to look to our future. And with Faith here…it may be that you can move on. For a time, at least."

"Wow," Buffy said, truly shocked. She had expected her watcher to be--well, a watcher. To tell her that she had responsibilities on the Hellmouth that needed to be taken care of, and that it was her destiny to do so. Sure, Faith was in Sunnydale, but with her lack of being around, for reasons the watcher did not know, she hadn't thought of letting the other slayer take over.

"Well, let's discuss it when I get back. In the meantime…I'd like you to continue training while I'm goine, and please don't do anything rash," he said, with a sigh.

She frowned, "Anything rash meaning…"

"Are you planning on seeing Angel?" the man simply asked, knowing that she'll get the point without him actually having to spell it out.

"Yes, actually I am. Look, but there's not going to be any rash," she thought about it, "Anywhere," she added, "Okay. We're friends. That's all either of us wants. Nothing's going to happen."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Something's going to happen," Willow said, as her and Xander walked around the corridor through some outdoor hallways.

"Like what?" Xander asked, trying to keep up with the girl's pace.

"It's a mistake. It's a terrible, fatal mistake. I see that now," she panicked.

"It's just bowling," he said, nonchalantly.

She shook her head, "It's bad bowling. It's a triple date, with all of us. They're going to know--more--that it's…maybe--he's going to see it. And she's going to see it. I'm not--I'm not over her, okay? I'm just not."

"Whoa," he said, with his hands up, "Not Oz," he paused, "How are they going to know, again?"

"It's a very intimate situation. It's all sexy with the smoke and the seating…and the shoe rental…"

He laughed, "You're turned on by rented shoes."

"That's not the issue," she said, avoiding the topic.

Xander stopped when they were next to a campus map bulletin, and turned to face her, "Okay, well, let me ask you this. What are they going to know? That you're friends. Old, old friends--somewhat old friend--You know compared to us and--My point is, maybe you've had one or two indiscretions, but that's all past. You're just very good friends who like to hang out," he spotted Kennedy out of the corner of his eye, to the left of them, walking across the lawn towards them, "Speaking of--"

"Oh…" Willow said, suddenly hypnotized. The sun just made her look that much beautiful, with its rays shinning on her tanned skin, and that smile she was wearing. Some jocks who were throwing a football, threw the ball a little off target, and it flew towards Kennedy, but she caught it. Of course she caught it. She even threw it back, "Look at her," she said, almost drooling, "She's all with the reflexes, and the muscles, and--" some girl walked up to Kennedy and they started to talk, making Willow feel a little tinge in her heart. It only got worse when Kennedy just waved to them, and turned to walk in the other direction with the girl, "And the ditching. I'm jealous!" she declared, turning back to Xander, "I am very jealous! And they're gonna know."

"Maybe bowling might be too much to handle," he paused, thinking whether he should say anymore. "But you're not the only one with issues…" watching her practically, if not actually drooling, over Kennedy had just reminded him of the fact that he was the man outside. The one that didn't hold any title, other than best friend. That used to be enough, but moments like that--They only made him want more. To be that object of wanting.

"Xander…" she said, knowing full well what he was talking about.

"I know," he said, sadly, "I wish I wasn't so attracted to you. I wish we could all make it stop."

She looked at him sympathetically, "Any suggestions?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Don't burn it," Dawn said, as she watched her sister put some popcorn in the microwave, "We all know what happened the last time you decided to call popcorn duty."

Buffy pushed the buttons on the microwave, and started it, "Thanks for the confidence."

Kennedy smiled, as she watched Buffy begin to walk away from the microwave, "You do know there's a popcorn button on the microwave, right?" she asked.

Buffy sort of just looked at her for a moment, questioning whether she was telling the truth. Once she saw that she was serious, she ran back to the microwave, stopped it, and searched for the popcorn button, which was actually there, "I knew that."

"Sure you did. That's why you pushed it after I told you about it," she said, with a smile, "You're a smart one. Yep, smart."

"You can't really insult me with brainy subjects until you've shared your own test scores," the slayer said, giving the girl a look, "I'm not even convinced you took the test."

"I took it."

"She better have," Joyce said, walking in with brochures in her hand, "She promised me she would at least give it a try."

"That's the second time I've felt like I've just been insulted today," the girl said, thinking to that morning.

"Until you tell us what you've made, we're all going to insult you. I, for one, live for opportunities to insult the oh so cool Kennedy," Dawn said, with a wink.

Buffy frowned, "No winking. Stop that," she walked over to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed the big official popcorn bowl, and then brought it to the island where everyone was either leaning or sitting. She looked to her mom, who had become silent, "What are you reading?" she asked.

"Ooo," Kennedy and Dawn said, in unison.

"Carnegie-Mellon has a wonderful design curriculum," she followed Buffy over to the microwave, "Oh, and Brown University's history program is--You like history, right?"

"Could we talk about this another time? All day it's been like, 'Congratulations!' 'Go away!'"

"That's not it. It's just you belong at a good old-fashioned college…with keg parties, and boys--"

Kennedy burst into laughter, receiving looks from Joyce and Buffy, while Dawn knew what she was thinking. The only 'boy' Buffy was interested in was Angel, and then there was the whole Faith ordeal, "Oh, sorry, continue."

"Not here with Hellmouths and vampires," the mother continued.

Buffy took the popcorn out of the microwave, glad to see, and smell, that she hadn't burnt it, "Not really seeing the distinction," she said, taking the bag over to the bowl.

"You're always talking about how you wish you could lead a more normal life," she said, following her daughter back to the island.

"They're not that great," Dawn commented.

"Ignore your sister," Joyce said, focusing on the task at hand, "Well, this is your chance."

She poured the popcorn into the bowl, "Yeah, it's just not that simple. I have responsibilities."

"I know, I know, but I spoke with Mr. Giles, and he said--"

"That Faith could be Miss Sunnydale in the Slayer pageant. I know," she looked to Kennedy, who had a concerned look on her face, and then handed the bowl of popcorn to her mother, pushing her to leave the room, so she could talk about what was just said.

"It's time to think about your future, Buffy--" the woman said, as she was pushed out of the kitchen by her eldest daughter, "about your whole life. I mean, honestly, is there anything keeping you here?"

"I don't know Mom. Go pick a movie," she said, pushing the woman out.

"Now I feel offended," Dawn said, with her hand over her heart.

"It doesn't feel good does it?" Kennedy asked. Dawn just shook her head, with a pout on her face, making her laugh, "Oh, hey. I forgot to ask you if you wanted to go to this triple dating bowling night thing."

Buffy walked over to them, "Did you ask my sister on a date?"

"What?" Kennedy asked, confused.

"Let me clear it up," Dawn offered, also wondering about the way Kennedy had just invited her to go bowling, "You just asked me if I wanted to go an--I quote--'triple dating bowling night thing'. Now," she said, squinting, "that does sound questionable."

"Yes," Buffy declared, "Yes, it does. And no! She will not go on a date with someone that is--"

"Hey, whoa. That was not a date asking sort of question," she said, cutting the slayer off, seeing that she was getting a little aggressive, "I was invited to go to that whole triple couple date thing with the others, and instead of getting a date, and making things awkward--for Willow--I told her I'd see if Dawn wanted to come."

"Hmm," she gave her a sideways look, "Okay. I'm just looking out for my sister, here."

"Yeah, like I don't look out for her, too," Kennedy said, rolling her eyes at the slayer, "Now, I'll swing by and get you if I have time. If you want to go that is."

"I have no where else to be," Dawn said, honestly. She thought about what she had said, "That was one of those comments, wasn't it?"

Kennedy nodded, "Yep, and it did hurt, just to let you know."

"What I mean was, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," the girl corrected. Then she looked at her sister, "You, tell us about this Faith taking over plan."

"Oh, right," Kennedy said, also turning towards the slayer, "I was also wondering about that. Especially since I'm just now hearing about it."

She jumped up, sitting on the island, "It's not like it's been the master plan for months. It was just something that Giles said, after the whole 'you could go places' speech, and take a little break. It's not like I would ever really consider that option."

"Thank god," Kennedy sighed, in relief, "That would be a fucking disaster. With all the stuff that's going on lately, god only knows what Faith would really do to 'protect' the residence of Sunnydale."

"Speaking of recent events," Buffy said, knowing that her reasons for not leaving mostly concerned her most recent advice from a not so trustworthy source, "Has any one else noticed Junes lack of showing her face lately."

"I've picked up on it," Kennedy admitted.

"She hasn't been going to school?" Dawn asked.

"I haven't seen her in gym class. Then there's the fact that I've been watching Faith's place," both the other girl's gave her a look, but she just shrugged it off, "No activity there either."

The slayer looked down, "How is she--Faith, I mean?"

"Seems fine," she sighed, "Don't exactly how her Monday through Friday schedule goes, but I know that her weekend consists of getting up, opening her window, while she's in the skimpiest sleeping clothes ever, eating some cereal, going out for a morning run, coming home and watching tv, taking a shower, and once sundown hits, patrolling, which includes letting herself get the shit beat out of her before staking the vamps, and then she goes home, closes the blinds, and lights out. Hasn't been any recent midnight fun, if you know what I mean. I definitely would have seen June pop up," both girls were still giving her a weird look, "What? I had to get close enough to hear voices inside her place. Mostly I got the sound of her neighbors--not so pleasant."

"You are aware of the fact that she probably knew you were there, right?" the blonde asked.

"I'm very aware of that. Even gave her a little wink when she went out in the mornings, which she returned in her own sort of way by raising her beer bottle as if she were toasting to something--Which reminds me, she went on cig and beer runs on the way back from running."

"That's not shocking," Dawn said, laughing, "There's irony in that. Going to run, stay in shape basically, and then coming home with cigarettes and beer."

"That's Faith for ya," Kennedy said, thinking of her sister. Then she looked to Buffy, who was silent, "What are you thinking? Maybe she's backing off while planning her big move?"

"Faith?" Buffy asked, with a frown.

"No, June."

"I don't know, really," she said, hoping that the girl hadn't been lying about not being a threat. Even if she had lied about it, Buffy was taking her advice, she was going to keep everyone safe. She wasn't going anywhere, "We'll find out. In the meantime, let's go watch the movie before Mom dozes off."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Spike looked the wood boards, that now stood where glass French doors used to be, at Angel as he sat by the fire reading some book, until Angel got up and walked out of the room.

"Hmmph," he took a swig of yet another bottle of alcohol, "Yeah, you…you think I'm afraid of you?" he asked, turning to walk away, "We were happy. You brainwashed her. I could just…" he downed the rest of it and threw the bottle aside. He took a few more steps, "Yeah," he looked back, "I'll show you who's a cool guy. You're going down," as he turned to leave, he tripped over something and fell on to the flat part of a statue, passing out as he did.

If it hadn't been for the rising sun starting to shine on his hand, instead of engulfing him completely, he wouldn't have every opened his eyes again, but luckily for him, the back porch of the mansion had so many statues in it that the rest of his body was in the shadows. All the while, his hand first started to smoke, and then just burst into flames, "Whoa! Ah!" he ran over to one of the statues that was dripping water and put his hand under it, but the water coming from it was dripping too slowly, so he got down on his knees, plunging his hand into the pretty full bottom of the statue, sighing in relief with his eyes shut.

Realizing what his hand on fire meant, his eyes flew open, staring directly at the sun as it continued to rise. He got up quickly and pulled his long black jacket over him as much as he could, running for the stairs that would lead him out of the porch area, "Aah!" he screamed, fumbling as he climbed the stairs.

Eventually, he made it to his car, opened the backdoor, and dived inside, only reaching to close the door once he knew his whole body was inside. He sat up, holding his burnt hand in front of him, breathing heavily, as he looked around his beer can infested backseat area. All of the cans, and some bottles, were empty in the back, so he reached to the front seat and grabbed a bottle, that was halfway full, and opened the top with his mouth, then he poured some on his hand, "Ohhh!" he yelled in pain, then he took a swig to ease it, "This is just too much," he finally admitted. He sighed, starting to relax a bit as the pain subsided, then he screamed again when the girl who had came to him before appeared in the front seat, "Whoa!! What the--?"

"You do know that you're allergic to the sun right?" she asked, turning to look at him, "I mean sleeping, or should I say passing out, outside really isn't such a grand idea. Especially passing out at the home of someone who I'm sure would love to kill you."

"What do you want?" he asked, taking a swig.

"A car would be nice," she put her hands on the steering wheel, pretending to drive, "Maybe this one. I mean, I've never had a car before…too dangerous to even walk around town where I come from, but here--I could use one. Of course, if I take this one, I'd have to take off all this paint that's on the window," she pulled her sleeve forward, and reached to wipe the cheap, chipping paint off of the window.

"Hey! Stop that!" Spike yelled, pulling his jacket over his face, "What do you want, with me?"

She let go of her sleeve, and turned to him as he let go of his jacket, "Still think you can manage?" she asked, with a grin.

He studied her, taking in the sight of her dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and tanned skin. There was something off about her. Something he couldn't pin point exactly, but knew it was there, "You're not where you belong, are you?" he asked.

"I never am," she answered, honestly. She stuck out her hand, "Look, if I prove to you that Willow Rosenberg can give you what you need, will you consider what I'm telling you?" she asked.

"I think, I'll manage," he says.

She laughs, "How about I make the offer irresistible, then," she snapped her fingers, and he found himself at the back of a magic shop, "What the--" he looked at the book in front of him, "Spells?"

"Take a look around," the girl said, "She'll be here in a minute. Until then, I'll make myself scarce."

"Whatever," the vampire said, picking up a book, "Mind as well make myself comfortable," he said, as the girl vanished, but he could smell that she was there, "It's only daylight outside. If I try an leave now, I'll fucking fry. Let's see what we have about hexes and such," he said, looking at the book he opened, "Psycho bitch," he felt a hand smack him on the head, "Ow!"

Hearing something, the woman clerk looked towards the back of the shop, and spotted the bleach haired man. She walked over to him, "Sid you come in through the back?"

He turned to her, "Yeah. I need a curse," he decided, with the book still in his hands.

"A what?" the woman asked.

"A curse," he repeated, like she was stupid, "Trapped here anyways. Look, I need something nasty. Boils! I want to give him boils all over his face," there was a blank expression on the woman's face, "You know, dripping pustules. Let's really go for the gusto here," he started to look more on the shelf.

"I'm hearing a lot of negative energy," the woman said, concerned, "And I bet--"

"Leprosy!" he stated, "A spell that makes his parts fall off. That sounds proper."

She frowned, "We don't carry…leprosy," she said, folding her arms. She heard the bell on the front door sound, "Would you excuse me a moment?" she says walking over to her other customer, "Blessed be. Anything in particular I can help you find?"

"Yeah. It's all here on the list," she said, holding up the paper. She pointed at what she needed as she read them off, "Skincrute, essence of rosethorn, canary feathers."

"Aha! A love spell," the woman said, "Want that old love to come back to you? Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Spike poked his head from around the shelf he was behind, "Well, I'll be--"

"She's here, just like I said she would be, what a coincidence," she said, appearing with a smile, "And look at what kind of spells she looking to perform…I wonder, if perhaps, you're looking for a love spell, William?"

"Yeah, well--" was all he could manage, as he continued to listen to the redhead and the clerk woman.

"No. I mean, yes. I know how to do a love spell…but this is more of an anti-love spell. Yeah. Kind of a de-lusting. The supplies are basically the same, right?" Willow asked.

The woman laughed, "Basically," she says as she begins to gather things, "Although raven feathers tend to breed a little more discontent than canary. Let me just get some things…Okay," she said, walking to the front counter, "That will be 15.80 for the lost," she put all the things in a bag, and then handed it to the girl, as she handed her the money.

"Thanks," Willow said, with a smile, then she walked out of the shop.

"Well, you'll have to wait till sundown now, but like I said--" she walked from behind the shelf, towards the woman, "She's a witch. She can get it done."

The clerk, remembering she had a customer waiting, turned to go back to the man when she bumped into a familiar face, "Back so soon? And you came through the back?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to stop by, really. I remembered that I have what I need," she backed up towards the door, looking over at Spike, "You can take care of that guy."

"Are you sure?" the woman asked.

She put her hand on the door, "Yeah, I'm good," she looked at the vampire one last time, knowing full well that she'd probably never see the woman again. She gave her a quick smile, "Goodbye," she said, then she walked out.

"Goodbye June," the woman waved. Then she went back to the back of the store, "So, did you find a spell book?" she asked.

Now vamped out, Spike stepped from behind the shelf, "Forget the book," he said, grabbing the woman, and plunging his fangs into her throat, sending both of them crashing to the ground. He let go of his hold, and lifted his head, blood all around his mouth, as well as in it, "I just got a better idea…From someone else, but still--"

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Well, that's the first part. I hope you guys liked it. Um, so the other site I post on had a little crash…that I'm not sure will be fixed, so I'm going to take a bit of time off…I think. I know that sounds a bit strange, but I'm really not knowing what to do here…in terms of just having lost my favorite site that had all (including ones I don't have on this site) of my stories on it. So, once I've dealt with that, I'll post more of all my stories. Thanks for reading, and please review.-ThomThom


	17. There There Pt 2

Okay, my other site that I post on is fine now, so here is a bit more. Alright, if things went according to plan, this is the rest of the chapter…if not, here's part two. I had actually planned to all of it in one night…but when I went to check something on the site and saw that it had crashed, I had stopped typing. Then, once the site was back up, I just posted what I had. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the rest of it, it was interesting to write…Oh, all of the stuff said/written, in part one's intro really applies to this part of the episode…blame the site crash. Well, I would like to thank you guys for reading and reviewing. Hope you like the rest, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. Oh, and as you all have probably noticed, I haven't been using any of the past Mayer cameos…well, if you have seen the season, you might have noticed. Well, that's about to change…(evil laughter). Like right now.

Chapter Twelve: There There Pt. 2

The Mayor stood bent slightly in his office, in front of his desk, his Deputy Mayor a bit to his right, holding the golf club as he looked at the raised hole with a small yellow flag attached to it, a few feet away from it. He hit the ball and watched as it rolled slowly and missed the hole completely, "Oh, look at that! Every time, cuts to the left," he got on his hands and knees, turned his head, and placed it a few inches above the floor, "See, and it's not the carpet. It's me," he said, getting up to get the ball. He walked back, dropping the ball back at its original spot, and looked at the man next to him as he bent his knees and adjusted his hands around the club, "I swear, I would sell my soul for a decent short game," he laughed, "Of course, it's a little late for that. Ha!" he looked down, "I don't suppose I could offer your soul, huh? Really help me on the green," the man said nothing, but he could feel him become uneasy, hear his heart quicken, "I'm just funning," he said, putting the man at ease, "So, we have a Spike problem, do we?"

"He's been spotted back in town," the man answered, as he watched the man hit the ball, and actually make it, "And there was an incident at a magic shop in broad daylight," the Mayor walked over to get the ball, saying nothing, and then walked back, making him wonder what he was thinking. But there was no point in really wondering, "Our mystery girl was also spotted. She seemed to pop in without anyone seeing, just like Spike, which only made it all more questionable. The police had a hell of a time covering it up."

He laughed, "Yes, he was up to all sorts of shenanigans last year. We had a world of fun trying to guess what he'd do next."

The deputy sighed, leaning back on the other man's desk, and folding his arms, "I remember."

Seeing the man lean on his desk in the corner of his eye as he went to hit again, he whistled and the man stood up straight again, "But I guess we're past that now," he said, standing up and leaning on his club, "And we can't have some mystery girl running around. This year is too important let a loose cannon rock the boat. We'll deal with the girl later."

"Should I have Mr. Trick send a…" he folded his arms, again, "committee to deal with this?"

"Loose cannon. Rock the boat. Is that a mixed metaphor?" he wondered aloud, "Boats did have cannons…and a loose one would cause it to rock," he laughed, "Oh, honestly, I don't know where my mind goes these days," he bent down to hit again, "Why don't you take care of that Spike problem? A committee, like you said."

"As good as done," the man said, as he headed out of the office.

"That's swell. Fore!" he yelled, as if he was even going to come close to hitting the deputy. The ball went in, and he stood up straight with a smile, "Hey!"

Just as the deputy reached to open the door, glad to leave the strange man's--or whatever he was--office, the mystery girl appeared in the room.

"What if I told you I already had taken care of this Spike problem?" she asked. The man by the door went to yell for security and she lifted her hand, making him rise off the ground, then she threw him into a chair, "First I talk," she said, with a threatening tone. She looked to the Mayor, who didn't seemed worried at all--He didn't know that he should be, if they were to end up fighting, but that didn't matter. That wasn't what she was there for, "I have a proposition for you, Mr. Mayor."

He put down his gulf club, and looked her in the eyes, "I'm listening."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

At Angel's mansion, Buffy sat on his couch looking through some brochures as he placed some logs in the burning fire place, "College, huh?" he asked, as he placed a log, letting the fire graze his hand.

"Higher education. Kind of an intense proposition," she answered, truthfully. She really was overwhelmed with all the new possibilities that were placed in front of her. All of these different schools, in different states, with different people; a whole different world. It was just so much to think about, even though she knew that if she were going to go, it would be no time soon. There was just to much going on in Sunnydale to think about really leaving. Still, just knowing that it was a possibility--It opened her eyes a little.

"Where are you want to go?" he asked, turning towards her.

"I have no idea," he had no idea about all that was going on lately, she hadn't told him. Usually, when there was some big bad going around, she would say something to him, though she wasn't even sure if there was a big bad around. Sure, June was suspected, and she had also given warning to a coming fight, but there was no proof that June was bad, and she wasn't the most reliable source, seeing that she was a walking secret box, "My mom was the one that got all these," she followed him with her eyes as he sat on the couch, with space between them of course. That's what they did now. They kept distance, and made sure that they had no temptation, "She's so excited, she can't stop talking about it. I had a really hard time coming up with an alibi so I could come here. Promised Dawn she could come watch me train, before she goes on a non-date with Kennedy, so she would help."

"Non-date?" he raised his brows, but she just rolled her eyes, and said nothing. Then he looked down, going to a more serious not, "Joyce doesn't know about me. Being back I mean."

"Big no," she said, putting the brochures on the couch, "She's having enough trouble dealing with the slayer issue. I don't really think she's ready to process the information that…you and I are friends again. Anyway, I think this college jones is just a reaction to the whole slayer thing."

"She wants you to get out."

"Someplace a little less hellmouthy," she shrugged, "She has a point, but there are reasons to stay, too."

Angel looked at her, "What are they?"

The fact that he could even ask that question, though she had many reasons to stay with what was going on, hurt her. He knew how much she cared for him. So they weren't doing the whole dating thing anymore, but did that mean she shouldn't want to be somewhere where he was nearby? It was like being friends meant 'entitlement to ditch', and she wasn't sure she like that, "Um…you know, there's my slayer duties, obviously," she said, trying to cover up the fact that her feelings had slightly hurt, "What do you think I should do?" she asked, giving him another chance to be more realistic with their situation.

"As a friend, I…" he got up and went back over to the fire, turning his back towards her, "I think that you should leave. This is a good opportunity for you."

He hadn't done it. He hadn't said that he didn't want her to leave; that he couldn't imagine not being able to see her; that he knew it was a good idea but didn't exactly want to happen. Instead he just put up that wall that he put up whenever he wanted to hide what he was really feeling and thinking. Buffy began to gather all of her things, "Yeah. It's not like there's any great thing keeping me here. Thanks for eh advice," she grabbed her bag and put all of her stuff in it, putting it on her back once she was done, "It's another perspective to consider."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Angel walked over into her path, stopping directly in front of her, "Where are you going? You just got here. It's early."

"Yah, well, my mom starts worrying a lot earlier these days," she said, backing away from him, on the way to the nearest exit, "Plus, got to go get Dawn. I'll stop by soon," she turned and walked out of the mansion, trying to push her feelings away. It was just weird. They were friends, okay that was fine, but did being friends mean building walls and pushing each other away?

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Xander walked into the science lab, shocked to see that the lights were out, except for one at the station Willow was standing at, "Whoa! It smells like church in here," he said, walking over to her, "No, wait…Evil church," he said, seeing all of the things that Willow had on the table.

"It's just chemistry stuff. An experiment," she lied. At first, she had thought of telling her best friend her plans to help with the de-lusting, but seeing his past with love spells--she decided it was best not to tell him. Guiltily, she thought he'd be too clueless to figure it out anyways.

"So you said when you called," he frowned, "Why do I have to be here?"

She turned to him, "It will be on the exam. You're way behind."

"Wow," Kennedy said, walking into the room with a smile on her face, "Everyone's all with the insults today," she walked over to the side of Willow that Xander wasn't on, pulled up a stool, and sat down, "Okay, I'm here."

"And why is that exactly?" Xander asked, looking between them both with.

"She's in our class too," the redhead said, continuing her lies. She picked up a feather, and gave both of them one, "Hold this."

"A feather," he looked to Kennedy, giving her a knowing grin, which she gave back, then they both looked at Willow, who was concentrating, "And who will we be tickling?"

"Shush," she warned, giving them both a look. Then she looked at the spell book, which Kennedy had decided to use as an elbow stand, "Hello, books aren't for your elbows," she said, making the girl move. She read what she needed, "Okay. Bring mixture to a boil…" she picked up a long lighter and stuck it under the beaker, turning the gas knob so the fire would light.

Xander, bending down to look as the fire was lit as well, was beginning to wonder about what was going on. It was already strange enough when Willow called him about doing chemistry, it only got weirder when Kennedy showed up, "I assume this won't make us late…for our evening of bowling magic?" he continued, seeing that both other girl's looked at him with a confused look in their eyes.

"There's no magic!" the witch said, a little louder than she had meant to. She cleared her throat, "I mean, bowling, yeah. Cordelia and Oz are going to meet us here later."

"And Dawn's in the library with Buffy," Kennedy added.

"You decided to just bring Dawn? Isn't that sweet. You're supposed to be so tuff, but I suspect you're really a big softy," he said, teasingly. Then he looked up, "Can we turn these lights on?"

"He doesn't know, does he?" Kennedy asked, laughing.

Xander frowned, "Huh?"

"You know?" Willow asked, turning to Kennedy.

Kennedy put her hand on the book in front of her, "I can read, Will."

She laughed uneasily, "Right."

"Is that a spell book?" Xander asked, going into a panic, as he walked over to Kennedy's side of the work station, and looked at the book.

Willow put her hand on it, "No, no, no! Chemistry book," she said, frantically, as Kennedy just laughed.

"Wait a minute," the boy said, noticing that the ingredients for their science experiment looked awfully familiar, "This is love spell stuff. You doing a love spell?" he asked, pointing at her.

"No. Of course not. This is purely scientific…" he lifted the book, showing the cover, which he had just read, which had the word 'witchcraft; on the cover. She sighed, "de-lusting spell…for us. I thought it would go better if you didn't know."

"Are you nuts," he put the book down, "or have you forgotten that I tend to have bad luck with these sorts of spells?"

Kennedy, who was slightly amused by the whole situation, shrugged, "I'd rather be here when I go nuts. Easier to take it out Will here when I'm next to her. Less of a rampage through the town, which would waste a lot of time. Don't worry Xander," she said, patting him on the shoulder, "If things go awry, I don't have a gun this time," she said, with a smile.

Ignoring Kennedy, Willow looked to Xander, "But you said you wished that these feelings could just go away."

"I wish for a lot of thing, Will," he said, angrily, "I told you I wished I was a fireman when we were in sixth grade…"

"That's laughable," Kennedy said, laughing, "Hints the laughter."

"My point is," he said, rolling his eyes, "I said it, and I didn't' follow through on that!"

"I can't do this anymore Xander," she admitted, not even caring that Kennedy was in the room.

She grinned, "Am I that irresistible?"

Willow looked at her, staring at that grin, "Stop that!" she commanded. Then she thought about it, "And yes! I--I mean this whole us thing is…bleagh."

"Do you really need to resort to the black arts," Xander said, getting their attention, "to keep all of our hormones in check?"

Kennedy shrugged, "I'm good."

Willow gaped, "Kennedy--Hurtful."

She realized how what she had said might have sounded, "Sorry," she said, sincerely. Or, at least, that's how it started, "You're hot. Yep. Hot and sexy Willow," she said, bursting into laughter, which Willow frowned at, "Look," she continued, "You guys are taking this too seriously--"

"Thank you, Miss-Easy-Going-Of-The-Year," the boy said, waving his hands dramatically. He looked at Willow, "Answer the question. Do you think this is necessary to keep all of our hormones in check? Honestly," he added, looking at Kennedy, who was still smiling.

Willow looked at Kennedy, who was being awfully--well, cold, about the whole situation. She was sitting there making jokes, and hurting feelings without a care in the world. That wasn't sitting well with Willow, "At this point, I'm thinking no."

"I'm leaving, then," he said, as he headed out of the room, "I'll see you at the bowling alley."

After a moment, of awkward silence, Kennedy decided to break it, now in a more serious mood, "I'm going to get the lights…help you clean up a bit before Oz and Cordelia get here," she stood up, standing in front of Willow, staring into those green eyes, "Don't want them to see this, do we?" the redhead simply shook her head. Kennedy looked away, "Unless--Unless you still want to go through with it."

"I--I…" she started to think about what was being asked. It had been her idea to do the whole de-lusting spell, but she hadn't really thought about all of it. All she had thought was, no more feelings for Kennedy, and that sounded great since she was trying so hard to make things okay with Oz, but now…as she stood there, looking at Kennedy, who had seemed to flip the switch back to her normal self, she wasn't so sure. There were so many possible outcomes with the spell. Not even mentioning the part where it could go completely wrong, like it had with Xander. Would not loving Kennedy turn her into someone else? Would they even be able to attempt the whole friend thing? Would she lose that feeling she got when she thought about their short 'affair'? Would all of that not matter to her anymore? Would Kennedy matter?

She put her hand under Kennedy's chin, and made her look at her, "Kennedy--"

As she stared into those green eyes, she could feel it. All of what she had pushed down, was suddenly rising like a raging flood. The hard work that it took to build up a wall inside of her was torn down, and she wanted nothing more than to tell Willow that she shouldn't go through with it. That maybe, one day…That's what she wanted to do really; tell her that maybe one day, when all the high school drama was over, and they faced all the dangers that were supposedly heading towards them was done and over with, they could finally just be happy. But something inside of her was screaming no. Something she couldn't quite place, and so she said nothing about a possible future. As she noticed that Willow was leaning towards her, she said one thing, "Don't…"

Willow froze, her heart pounding. She stepped away from Kennedy, her mind made up, "Get the lights," she said, in a hushed voice. That was it; her mind was made up, and she wasn't going to walk away from it. The look that Kennedy was giving her let her know that she understood what was being said, that both of them were thinking the same thing, when it came to what turning on the lights would meant for both of them. It wasn't over. Part of her, as she watched Kennedy go turn on the lights, was relieved to know that they were still somewhat on the same page. They both knew that they had feelings for each other, and they both knew that they might want something more, even if it was in a few years, and just knowing that gave Willow some hope that maybe Kennedy did love her. That maybe it wasn't a one sided nightmare. Then again, she kind of felt like a new weight had been put on her shoulders. She had basically signed a line saying that her and Oz would one day be over. That she would look forward to the day. Was that true? Did she care so little for him? It was like all those feeling that were there, before Kennedy showed up, and when she left the first time, had suddenly become less important. They didn't mean as much as the feelings she had for Kennedy. But, they were still there. What did that mean?

Before she had time to continue breaking down her feelings, Willow saw someone grab Kennedy from behind, putting their arm around her neck. It took her a moment to register that it was Spike who had done it, "Kennedy!" she yelled, going into a panic. The last time she had seen him, he had fought on the good side--sort of--but she knew, by his vamped out face, and his tight grip on Kennedy, that that was no longer the case.

"I need to borrow the little girl," he said, in his thick accent. He looked at Kennedy, "Other little girl. Kennedy isn't it?" he asked, pretending she could answer, "You don't mind do you?"

Kennedy, as an answer to his question, jumped up and kicked the wall with both of her feet, sending the both of them falling backwards. When Spike hit a metal stand behind them, she was thrown to the ground, hitting it hard, but she knew that staying down to long would give him time to take Willow. She stood up quickly, hoping that she would somehow get some sort of upper hand just long enough to go get Buffy, but as soon as she was up the vampire punched her in the face, sending her pack down.

Willow grabbed anything that was heavy off of the work station, paying no mind to what it was, and lifted it to hit Spike while he wasn't looking, but he caught her hands as they were lifted to strike and smiled, "Threatening me? That's not nice. We're all going to be very best friends," seeing the redhead look past him a bit, he took the metal object from her, pivoted, and hit Kennedy on the side of her head, knocking her out.

"Kennedy!"

"Now come on," Spike said, picking Kennedy up and throwing her over his shoulder, "If you don't," he says, turning to Willow, "the girl dies. You choose," he said, truly meaning it. After a second, the redhead nodded, "Good."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

After lying the unconscious girl down on the canopy bed, Spike looked to the other side of the bed where Willow sat silently, purposely avoiding turning in his direction, "A spell. For me," he said, taking a few steps away from the bed, and then walked to the stand a few feet in front of the bed where Druscilla's dolls laid, "You're going to do a spell for me."

"Uh," Willow said, trying not to look at him, now only a few feet to her right, "what kind of spell?"

"A love spell!" he said, angrily, "Are you brain-dead? I'm going to get what's mine!" he declared picking up a bottle, this time he knew it was whiskey, "Teach her to walk out on me," he added before taking a swig. After swallowing, he turned his head, noticing that the redhead was staring at him, "What are you staring at?"

She looked away, "Nothing."

He walked over to her, "You can do it, right? You can make Dru love me again? Make her crawl!" he said, viciously.

Still without turning, she said, "I-I can try."

That was not what he wanted to hear at all. He put his fingers in her hair, grabbing her by the back of the head, and pulled, making her look up at him. If he were in a better mood, he would have been glad to see such a horrified fearful look in the girls eyes, but he didn't have time for such things at the moment, "What are you talking about, trying? You'll do it!"

"Yes," she said, almost being brought to tears because of the pain of him pulling her hair, "I'll do it!"

Spike pushed her away, pulling his hands from her hair, and broke the bottle he was holding on one of the canopy's bed poles, then he grabbed her again, exactly as he had before, but this time he held a half broken bottle to her face, it's sharp edges almost touching her pale skin, "You lie to me, and I'll shove this through your face!" he said, yanking her a bit more, "You want that?" he asked, "Right through to your brain?" he pulled again.

"No," the tears swell more, as her heart pounded in her chest, "Please, no," she begged, the tears now falling.

He pushed her away again, and then leaned against a bed post, "She wouldn't even kill me," she said nothing in response, all she did was stare at the ground, so he made his way to the other side of her and sat down next to her, "She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut my head off…or set me on fire. I mean, is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?"

Willow had noticed that the bleach blonde seemed to be having mood swings since they had left the school. One moment he was acting all tough and cranky, then the next he was whining about Druscilla again. She looked over at him, as he looked at her waiting for a response, and saw a bruise on his face, stretching from his cheek bone to his chin, "It looks like she hit you, though," she said, thinking it would calm him down even more.

"What?" he said, wondering what she was talking about. Then he remembered. That girl, the one the clerk had called…one of the months--January, May--one of them. He couldn't remember, and touched his cheek, "I wish. No, she didn't do this," he rubbed it a bit, "Damn thing won't go, though," then he thought of Druscilla again, "it was that truce with Buffy that did it. Dru said--I'd gone soft--wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. I told her it didn't mean anything…I was thinking of her the whole time but she didn't care. So, we got to Brazil, and she was…she was just different. I gave her everything," he looked down, "beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses…with beautiful girls in them…but nothing made her happy. And she would flirt! I caught her on a park bench…making out with a chaos demon!" he looked at the girl, "Have you ever seen a chaos demon? They're all slime and antlers," he said, gesturing behind his head, picturing the demon. Then he pushed some of Willow's hair back, and began to pet her a bit, "She only did it to hurt me," he said, while still rubbing, noticing how uncomfortable she was, and not caring. Then he pulled his hand away, "So I said, 'I'm not putting up with this anymore.' And she said, 'Fine!' And I said, 'Yeah, I've got an unlife, you know!' And then she said…" he sobbed, "she said we could still be friends," he said sadly, putting his head on Willow's shoulder.

All while the man had talked, Willow had sat, looking around as he spoke. Now, with his head on her shoulder, she sat awkwardly still, patting his knee twice, "There there," she said, just as awkwardly as she sat.

"I mean, friends! How could she be so cruel?" he sniffled a bit, and then noticed a smell he had not smelt before, he lifted his head a little, noticing that it was coming from Willow, "Mmm. That smell…Your neck," he said, getting closer to it. Then he vamped, "I haven't had a woman in weeks."

She frowned, realizing what he was saying, and stood up quickly, "Whoa! No! Hold it!"

"Well," he said, standing still, "unless you count that shopkeeper."

"Now, hold on!" Willow said, as he started to come closer, "I'll do your spell for you, and--and--And I'll get you Druscilla back…but there will be no bottle in face…and there will be no 'having' of any kind with me. All right?"

He pulled her to him, putting his mouth to her ear, and de-vamped, "All right," he said, letting her go, "Get started."

She stumbled back a little when he let go, and then went to the other side of the bed, where the supplies were. She looked at Kennedy, who was still unconscious, wanting nothing but to touch her, just to make sure she was still alive. Yes, she could see the other girl's chest rise and fall, but it wasn't enough. That however, would have to be enough, "Now," she said, looking to Spike, "I'm not a real witch, you know."

"She's lying."

Spike looked about the room, knowing he had just heard someone say something, and that it wasn't either of the girl's he could see. He started to turn around in circles, looking around a bit, then he stopped moving, "What?"

Willow, who thought he was just going into another one of his fits, frowned fearfully, "I don't know if this is…going to work right away."

"Well, if at first you don't succeed," he said, still on the other side of the bed, "I'll kill her," he gestured towards Kennedy, "and you try again."

That was enough. She started to go through what he had laid out for her, "This isn't enough," she said, preparing herself for him to come at her, again.

He walked over to her, "What?"

"Well, there are other ingredients, and…and a book. I need a spell book. This isn't it," she said, looking up at him.

"You've got one, though, at home?" he said, getting awfully close to her.

She looked away, feeling his breath on her, "Not at home. I left it somewhere."

A little closer, "Where?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"So I was like, wow, does this mean we have to be all disconnected?" Buffy said, as she grabbed her jump rope off of the table in the library.

Dawn, who sat on top of the table, eating a bag of chips, nodded, "I'm thinking that there can't be anymore love confession sessions. I mean, that's what happens when you start to play the 'friends only' card. Angel's already the biggest martyr, add this too it, and well--It's nothing left, you know?"

She stopped jumping, "Nope. I don't know. In fact I am completely clueless. This is the second person that I have to be just friends with now, and I'm still not understanding. What does being 'friends' mean? What changes?" she wondered, as she started to jump rope again, "They should make some kind of rule book, or one of those for dummies books."

"You do realize you just called yourself a dummy, right?" the younger girl asked, laughing, "Look Buffy, all of this is pretty simple. You, Angel--and everyone else that's playing this game--are just to blind to get it. Here," she put her chips down, and grabbed her backpack, which she had brought promising her mom that she'd get some homework done. She had lied. She grabbed a journal, and a pen, "I'll write down what you have to do. That way, anytime you're wondering, you can just pull it out of one of your unnaturally small purses, and there will be something to help you out."

"You--You are going to give me rules about relationships, when you've never even been in one?" the slayer asked, still jumping.

"Ha ha, and no. I'm giving you some rules, and guidelines, to be 'just friends'. An area of which I'm an expert. So, first…" she thought, "You have to set boundaries. Boundaries are key," she said, sure of herself, "This will let you know what can and can't be done."

"Give me an example," the slayer said.

"Okay," she thought for a moment, "Alright, even though I'm positive that Willow and Kennedy did not talk boundaries, Kennedy figured that it would be weird for her to bring a date to the bowling thing tonight. Their quote unquote break up is too new to start flaunting any new interests. Though Kennedy would probably just bring some slut she'd met at a bar," her sister gave her a knowing look, and Dawn laughed nervously, "My point is, one of the boundaries would of course be--not bringing a new interest around your new interest, when they're obviously not over you. Then there would be the touching boundary--is it okay if I put my arm around you like all your normal friends do, even if it gets you all hot when I do it? Um, no, it's not okay. We will not touch at all, because it's too risky."

"I think you're a little insane," Buffy said, looking at her sister, as she basically had a conversation, along with a fresh break up, with herself, "So you're saying that Angel and I should keep the touching to a minimum. Okay, I got that. But we already established that when the whole kiss thing happened."

"It should have been a given, though," the girl said, knowing that she was right, "Okay, fine. The rule that you need is one that let's you know what can or cannot be said. Both of you already know that you love each other. We all know. The thing is, to become friends, you can't talk about your feelings for each other all the time. He can't say to you, stay in Sunnydale 'cause I can't bear living without you near me, because that can stir up more feeling, which will lead to touching--and well, we all know how that goes. There's a whole process that goes with this kind of thing. The first thing you have to do is take some time away from each other to spend with other people you care about. This will let you see who else is out there, whereas still hanging out with 'them' would only make you want to be with them more. Taking some time alone will also have this affect, because then you'll just think of them."

She finally stopped jumping, "So you're saying that I need to take some time away from Angel to spend with the people I care about?"

"Yes. That is what I said."

"But I do spend time with everyone. The whole seeing what else is out there, well, that didn't go so well last time," she admitted.

"Yeah, but that was your fault…both times. You're the one that slapped her. She had to react to that in some sort of way. Be glad that she even wanted to be friends with you after that, which you thought wasn't enough, but then thought it was once you started hanging out with Angel a lot, again. Then, with the whole recent thing--The whole lying situation. Again, I say she had to react somehow. She's taking a step. No, she's not doing it with the people she cares about, because there isn't any one for her to really go to, but she is seeing what else is out there. It just happens to be a girl that may or may not be the next big evil."

Buffy frowned, "I was actually talking about Scott. The guy that dumped me right before homecoming. But thank you so much for reminding me of all the things I was trying not to think about'."

"Oh, right. Scott," she sighed, "Sorry."

"No. It's fine," she smiled, not wanting her sister to feel guilty, "Thank you. O' wise one," she said, as she began to jump rope again, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd go deeper into the realm of relationship hell," she said, as she began to write more, "Seriously though. I'm going to give you this, and you're going to solve all of your relationship problems, I guarantee you, by tomorrow."

Buffy laughed, "Uh-huh," she jumped for a bit, watching her sister, who seemed so grown-up now, and then frowned, "Hey, I think you got stood up."

As if on cue, Oz and Cordelia ran into the library, "Thank God you are here," Cordelia said, out of breath.

Buffy dropped her jump rope and went over to them, "Not all of us have dates tonight. Or non-dates," she said, glancing at her sister.

"That makes you more pathetic, if you think about it," Dawn said, teasingly.

"Then don't," Buffy said, smiling sarcastically.

"Sorry to interrupt," Oz said, still breathing heavily, "But something's up."

They all walked down the hallway to the place where they were supposed to meet; one of the science labs. It was a complete mess. Glass was on the floor, things were knocked over, and it smelt a little like gas, which prompt Buffy to go turn the knob of the only station that had any sort of light on at it.

"We were supposed to meet in here," Cordelia said, as her Oz, and Dawn made there way to the station Buffy was at, "I don't know what could have happened."

Buffy looked at all of the things on the table, "What is this stuff?" she said, touching some of it, "I'm thinking weird science."

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Or, you know--A spell."

Cordelia turned to Oz, "Was Willow messing with her magic trick again?"

Again, Dawn rolled her eyes, this time sighing along with it, "Yes, Cordelia. She pulled a bunny out of a hat," she said, noting that Cordelia said magic trick instead of spell, "Maybe," she looked to Buffy, "this has to do with that stuff with June."

Oz shook his head, "No, she said she was done with that."

"Hey," Xander said, walking in, "Sorry, I'm--What happened?" he asked, noticing the state of the room.

"Xander!" Cordelia ran over to him, and wrapping her arms around him, "You're okay," she said, relieved. Then she pulled back, her smile turning into a glare, and she hit him on the arm, "So you were just late, then?"

"Ouch," he said, rubbing his arm. He thought for a moment, "Mom had me start the laundry just as I was about to walk out the door. Sorry."

"Okay, back to what matters," Dawn said, getting their attention, "We still have to worry about Willow, and Kennedy. We need to know what happened. I think June's are best bet. This might have to do with all that cryptic talk."

"Maybe they disappeared," Cordelia offered.

"Or maybe, everyone should listen to Dawn," the youngest Summers suggested.

"Whatever happened," Buffy said, still looking around the room, "There was a fight."

"I don't see any blood," Oz said, also looking.

"Either they were taken, or they ran, or maybe--"

"Or maybe, Dawn's right," the younger sister said, cutting the older one off.

Buffy glared at her sister, "Which tells us nothing, so shush. Maybe--"

"You're having to many ors and maybes!" Cordelia declared, "Pick one!"

"We have to start somewhere," Xander said, hoping that he wouldn't have to tell them what the two girls had been up to. Was it possible that the spell had gone wrong? Even then, would it lead to such a mess, with no blood, and no bodies of either girl?

"I don't know," the slayer admitted, "I need you guys to find Giles, okay? I'm going to look for them. Maybe they didn't get to far,"

"I'm with you," Dawn said. She put her hand up when Buffy went to speak, "No buts," she added.

"Where is Giles?" asked Cordelia.

"he's at a retreat in the clearing in Breaker's Woods," the slayer answered.

"I know the spot," Oz said, nodding, "but it's like a forty-five minute drive."

The slayer nodded, "So motor," with that they all left the lab. Xander, Oz, and Cordelia all going to get Giles, while her and Dawn headed back to the library, "I'm going to really need you to not get in the way."

"Oh, because that's all I ever do. Yeah, that's me. The little sister that's always in the way," she said, as they walked through the double doors, heading towards the weapons, "What do I get?" she asked.

Buffy laughed, "Nothing."

"What? What if--?" before she could finish the phone ran, and Buffy ran to it, "Saved by the phone."

"Giles?" Buffy said, answering the phone, but to her disappointment, it was her mother.

"Hi, Buffy," the woman said, "You still working out?"

"Uh, no Mom, actually--"

"I was hoping that we could schedule a college talk later tonight. I admit I…overreacted before. You don't have to go all the way across the country. I picked up some brochures…"

At this point, Buffy knew that she would have to wait until her mother paused to breath, before she could get in another word. She looked to Dawn, and almost screamed when she saw that the girl was pointing a crossbow in her direction. Instead, she waved for the girl to put it down, which she of course did with an eye roll. It wasn't until then that she noticed that her mother had paused, and she heard someone else over the phone.

"Hello, Joyce."

It was Spike.

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Okay, well, here's part two. I'm too tired to go any further. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Let's see…next time, Kennedy wakes up, Buffy is made to realize something, and there is some hurting of the emotional and physical kind…That should be up pretty soon. In the mean time, please review, and thanks for reading. -ThomThom


	18. There There Pt 3

Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews, and for reading. Here's the rest of the chapter. Hope you enjoy it, and please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Twelve: There There Pt. 3

"So I'm strolling through the park, looking for a mean. I happen to walk by, and she's making out with a chaos demon! And I said, 'You know, I don't have to put up with this,'" he paused, as Joyce poured him a cup of coco. Once again, he was in the Summers house, sitting in the kitchen talking to the nice woman, and waiting for the slayer to come. In the mean time, he thought he'd mind as well tell the woman why he had come to Sunnydale in the first place. Once she sat down in the stool next to his, he continued, "And she said, 'Fine!' so I said, 'Fine do whatever you like!' I thought we were going to make up, you know."

"Well, she sounds very unreasonable," Joyce said.

"She is. She's out of her mind," he looked to Joyce, his expressions softer, "That's what I miss most about her."

"Spike," the woman said, taking in what she had been told, "sometimes even when two people seem right for each other their lives just take different paths. When Buffy's father and I--"

"No, this is different. Our love was eternal. Literally," he hit the island top, not doing it so hard to frighten the woman, and then calmed himself, "You got any of those little marshmallows?"

Joyce stood up, "Well, let me look," she said, as she began to search through her kitchen cabinets.

All of a sudden, Spike saw a figure running towards them, and then slam into an invisible barrier at the open backdoor. He stood up, and took a few steps back, thinking at first that the vampire was invited, but once he saw that he couldn't enter, he relaxed, and laughed to himself.

Angel slammed his hands against the barrier, "Spike," he said, gritting his teeth angrily.

"Oh, my God. Get out of here," Joyce commanded, standing a bit in front of Spike.

"Yeah. You're not invited," Spike said, mockingly, with his thick accent.

As Angel continued to try to get in, Joyce felt her heart quicken, "He's crazy. He'll kill us."

"Not while I breathe," Spike said, pretending to assure the woman, "Well, actually, I don't breathe."

"Joyce," Angel called, "listen to me."

"You get out of this house, or I will stake you myself," the woman shouted.

All the while, Spike is smiling behind her, making faces at the other vampire, "You're a very bad man."

"Joyce, you can't trust him. Invite me in," the woman wasn't listening, and Spike wasn't taking full advantage of that. The bleached blonde stood behind her, making faces, lifting his hands into claws, and pretending he was going to bite her, "You touch her, and I'll cut your head off!"

"Yeah?" he said, "You and what army?"

"That would be me," Buffy said, walking into the kitchen. She grabbed Spike, and slammed him onto the island, putting her hand to his throat," she stared down at the vampire, wanting him to already be dead, but she knew that he had to have come for a reason. He was up to sorry, "Angel," she said, not taking her eyes off of Spike, "why don't you come on in?"

As Angel walks in, Joyce steps back, "Oh. Oh god."

Dawn looks at her mom, "Relax, Mom. He's not going to hurt anyone…well, other than Spike."

"Hey Lil'Bit," the bleach blonde said, seeing the girl.

"Spike," the girl said, with a nod, "Would say that I'm happy to see you, but then I might be next to be slammed on to the table," she said, remembering what had happened the last time Spike was in her house. Sure, she had talked to him a bit, 'cause he was fighting with them, but Buffy hadn't liked it then, and she definitely wouldn't like it now.

Buffy turned her head, frowning, "Stop talking to him," she turned back to Spike, "You shouldn't have come back, Spike."

"I do what I please," he said.

"Okay, I'm confused again," Joyce said, looking between all of them.

Spike tried to sit up, but both Buffy and Angel pushed him back down. This time, the slayer pulled out a stake as well, and just as she was about to send it crashing to his heart, he jerked, "Willow!" he yelled.

She stopped her hand, only an inch above his chest, "You took Willow?"

"Darn," Dawn said, with a slight stomp. Everyone turned to look at her, "Sorry. It's just that that means I was wrong."

"Shocking," Buffy said, sarcastically. She turned back to Spike, raising her hand again.

"You do me now, you'll never find the little witch," he said, knowing she would halt her movements again.

Joyce frowned, "Willow's a witch?"

Buffy ignored her mother's question, "And Kennedy?" she asked.

"Her, too," he said.

"Kennedy's a witch?" Joyce asked.

"No, Mom," Dawn said, simply.

Angel grabbed Spike by his jacket, and pulled him up close to him, "Where are they?"

He hit Angel's hand away, and straightened his jacket, "Doesn't work like that, peaches. and when did you become all soul-having again? I thought you out-grew that. Your friend's going to work a little magic for me," he said, turning to Buffy, "She does my spell, I let them both go."

"You're not famous for keeping your promises, Spike," the slayer said.

"Well, you and your great poof here want to tag along, that's fine. But you get in my way…and you kill your friends," he said, as he walked out of the kitchen.

Buffy looked to Angel, who nodded, and then to Dawn, who was about to follow Spike, "You stay here--No buts," she said, giving the girl a look. Then both her and Angel went after him.

Dawn watched as they left, "You wish," she said. Then she ran up the stairs, "You should sleep Mom," she called, "It'll make you feel better," once she was in her room, she smiled, and mad her way to her window, "I'm not going to miss this."

In the van, Xander, and Cordelia sat as Oz drove awfully fast. They had been sitting silently for a while, each of them thinking of different scenarios; Cordelia was just going crazy with possibilities, glad that her boyfriend was safe; Oz was hoping that Willow was okay after seeing how bad the lab looked, and seeing that there were spell ingredients out. He hoped that she hadn't gone to far with her investigation, that she was supposed to be done with; Xander on the hand was hoping that they had just been taken, and hadn't come up with some master plan to destroy the lab, to make it look that way, and ran off into the sunset together after the spell had only intensified their feelings, 'cause of course it could only go wrong.

"What if," Cordelia began, "…what if they were kidnapped by Colombian drug lords. They could be cutting off ears right now! Or other parts."

"Yes, because that seems to be the most reasonable explanation," Xander said.

Oz sniffed the air, smelling something familiar, and then stopped the van.

Cordelia looked at him, "Hello?"

He sniffed again, "It's Willow. She's nearby."

"What? You can smell her? She doesn't even wear perfume," Cordelia said looking around them.

"She's afraid," Oz said, as he switched gears, and backed up.

That was a good thing, in Xander's mind. It meant that something had actually happened, and they weren't about to stumble onto a steamy seem that he had had many dreams about, while he was sure Oz had had nightmares.

"Oh, my god," Cordelia said, as Oz turned into some back alley, "Is this some sort of residual werewolf thing? This is very disturbing."

Oz sighed, "I really agree."

"Look," Spike said, as he, Buffy, and Angel, emerged from an alley, "I just need a few supplies and then I'll take you to--Oh, God," he said, touching his head.

"What's wrong, not that I care?" the slayer asked, rolling her eyes.

"Oh…my head. I think I'm sobering up. It's horrible," he groaned, bending over slightly, "Oh, God. I wish I was dead."

"Well, if you close your eyes and wish real hard…" the slayer said, pulling out a stake. She started to go towards Spike, but Angel grabbed her, putting himself directly between them.

"Hey! Back off!" Spike said, lifting his hand in her direction.

"Buffy," Angel said, calmingly, "we still need him to find the others."

"Need him?" she gestured at the whiney vampire, "He's probably just got them locked up in the factory."

He looked away, "Well, hey, how thick do you think I am?"

Fine," the slayer said, moving past Angel, and Spike, "Can we just get this over with?" she took a few steps, and then something stepped out in front of her. Her first instinct was to stake it, but once the light played over its face, she saw it wasn't an it at all--It was Dawn, "What are you doing here?" she asked, angrily.

"Did you really think I'd just sit at home?" Dawn asked.

"Did you think I told you to stay home for no reason? If something happens, and you get in the way--"

Dawn rolled her eyes, "That's all you ever think; that I'm going to get in your stupid way. Well, I'm not, okay. It's not like I hadn't been invisible for all the years that you had decided other things--" she looked over at Angel, "were more important."

Spike nudged Angel, "She's talking about you. Look at that…you gettin' between sisters. You are a bad man."

"Shut it."

"Now I'm here," Dawn continued, "And you can't get rid of me. I'm not here for you," she added, "I'm here for Kennedy, and Willow."

Buffy looked at her sister, seeing that she was completely serious; there was no way to get rid of her now. She sighed, "Fine. Just don't--Don't get hurt," she said, knowing not to tell the younger girl to not get in the way again. It would only send her on another rant.

"I won't," the girl said, then she followed as her sister started to walk again.

Everyone was silent for a while, but of course Spike had found another reason to open his mouth. This time, it was a bench, "Oh, God."

"Now what?" Angel asked.

Spike sobbed, "We killed a homeless man on this bench. Me and Dru. Those were good times," he sat down on the bench, "You know, he begged for mercy…and you know, that only mad her bite harder," he said, with a laugh, turning towards the others. Buffy and Angel just looked at him, blank faced, while Dawn seemed a little grossed out.

"I guess you had to be there," the slayer said. Then they started to walk again. Finally, they reached their destination--A magic shop. She kicked in the door, and they walked in, Angel closing the door behind them. When she saw there was caution tape blocking them to go any further, she tore it down, and looked to Spike, "Your work?"

"Here's the list," he said, instead of answering, handing it to Buffy.

Buffy looked at it, recognizing Willow handwriting, and wanting to kill the vampire even more, "Essence of violet, cloves--Angel?"

"Right," he said, going to collect.

"Set of tunic tablets. Spike can get the rat's eyes."

"What about me?" Dawn asked.

Buffy looked at her sister, "Don't touch anything."

"I used to bring her rats," Spike said, as he looked around, "With the morning paper."

"Great," Buffy said, annoyed, "More moping. That's going to get her back."

"I think it's romantic--In a gross kind of way," Dawn admitted.

"Which is why you need to say clear of all things magic," the slayer said.

"The spell's going to get her back," Spike said.

Angel, who was looking on a shelf covered wall, huffed, "Lost of trouble for somebody who doesn't even care about you."

"Shut your gob."

Angel shrugged, "She really is just kind of fickle."

Spike snapped. He charged at him, "Shut up!" he said, hitting him hard, as he turned towards him. He went for another hit, but Angel blocked it, and then Buffy grabbed him by the back of the throat and threw him away, "What do you know?" he asked, stumbling, "It's your fault, the both of you! She belongs with me. I'm nothing without her."

"Yeah, that I'll have to agree with," Buffy said, harshly, "You're pathetic you know that?"

Dawn crossed her arms, "I do recall someone lying on the couch for days," she paused, "Also pathetic."

Buffy shot her sister a look, and then turned back to Spike, feeling now that she had to bring their attention back to him, and not on her issues, "You're not even a loser anymore. You're a shell of a loser."

"Yeah. You're the one to talk," Spike said, walking past Buffy and Angel, to the shelf the other vampire had been looking at.

Buffy watched him, crossing her arms as she did, "Meaning?"

"The last time I looked in on you two," Spike said, not looking at them, "you were fighting. Now you're back making googly-eyes at each other like nothing happened. Makes me want to heave," he said, turning to look at them now.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the slayer said.

Dawn laughed, "Pft."

"Dawn!" the slayer said, looking at her sister again, "Can you not?"

Spike laughed to, getting the slayer's attention, "Oh, yeah. You're just friends."

"My ass," Dawn said, under her breath.

"Slayer hearing," Buffy said, without turning to her sister.

Angel nodded, "That's right. Friends.

"You're not friends," Spike said, looking between the two of them, "You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag…and you'll hat each other until it makes you quiver…but you'll never be friends," he said, as he voice cracked, "Love isn't brains, children," he pointed to his temple, and then put his hand over his heart, "it's blood--Blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch…but at least I'm man enough to admit it," he turned to the shelf, immediately finding what he needed, while Buffy and Angel just avoided looking at each other, "Eye of rat."

Willow stood at the top of the basement stairs, pausing between slamming her body into the door, hoping that somehow it would open. She didn't want to wait around and hope that Spike would let them go after she did his spell, or wait hoping that Buffy would find them. She wanted to get out then and there. After slamming into the door another time, she heard Kennedy stir below, and ran down the stairs, sitting next to the girl as she woke up, "Kennedy?" she said, putting a hand on the girl's stomach, "Are you okay?" she asked, as the girl opened her eyes, and lifted her head a little.

"I'm a little dizzy," she admitted, "Kind of nauseous, too," she frowned, "Do I remember a fight with Spike?"

She nodded, "You do."

"I won right? Kicked his ass?"

"You were real brave. Do you need to barf?"

"No, but you saying that word isn't going to make me feel any better," she looked around them, noticing that they were no longer in lab, or in any other part of Sunnydale High that she could think of, "Where are we?"

"The factor. We're locked in the basement," she said.

"That burnt-out place in the middle of nowhere?" she asked, getting a simple nod from Willow. She touched the part of her head that was bothering her, and pulled her hand back to see blood on it, knowing now why she felt so bad. But she didn't want to worry Willow with all the possible damage that could have been done, "So we're prety much in a 'Scream all you want' scenario."

"Pretty much," Willow said, relaxing a bit more into how she was sitting, and moving a little closer to Kennedy.

"Why didn't he just kill us?"

"He wants me to do a love spell," she said, staring into the girl's eyes.

She frowned, "What?"

"Druscilla broke up with him."

"That crazy bitch who tried to kill me when she was trying to get her strength back? Gee, and we had all hoped those crazy kids would make it work," she said, laughing.

Willow though of Spike, and the way he had been acting, "He's out of control. I mean, not that he was Joe Restraint in the old days."

She tried to sit up a bit more, "So what are our options?"

"Well, I figure wither I refuse to do the spell and he kills us or I do the spell and he kills us."

Thinking that they might die, Kennedy took one of Willow's hands in her own, "Give me a third option."

"he's so drunk he forgets about us, and we starve to death. That's sort of the best one," she said, trying to give a smile, but it didn't quite make it through.

"Willow, we're not going to die," she says, knowing they might. She tried to sit up completely, along with Willow's help, "If he's so drunk, he'll get sloppy…and then I'll make my move," her legs gave out, and they both fell onto the bed, Willow landing slightly on top of her, "As long as I have a couple more minutes to get up, we'll be okay. We could always wait until he passes out, feed him a bit more alcohol," she said, with a smile. She pushed some of Willow's hair back, and stared into those green eyes, and began to lift her head, no longer wanting to fight her feelings.

Seeing that Kennedy was about to kiss her, Willow too began to lean, but then she stopped, "We're not supposed to," she whispered.

"I'm thinking that this is a time where it really doesn't matter. Willow," she said, rubbing the girls cheek, "if this is the last time we're going to--If we're going to die, I can't let it happen without doing this--" she kissed the girl lightly, and pulled back a little, "Without showing you how much you mean to me," she kissed her again, this time letting it grow. It was like she was finally free--Like everything that was happening, all of the drama, and foreboding danger, didn't matter anymore. She was with Willow, and that was everything. As the kiss grew more passionate, and their mouths opened to let the other explore, the pain and dizziness she had been feeling left her. The sound of the girl's moans gave her strength. She wanted her to feel it. To feel all of the things she hadn't been able to say. All the things she had hidden from even herself. She loved her.

Kennedy changed positions with Willow, putting herself on top, and straddling her. She took off her shirt, throwing into the darkness of the room, and then kissed Willow's neck, moving towards her ear. Once their, she sighed, "I love you."

Willow gasped. She had waited so long; had dreamt of the moment--without the oncoming death--but still, she had waited. When Kennedy moved to look at her, laying her body on top of hers and moving out of the straddling position, she put her hand on the girl's face, seeing that there were tears on her cheeks. She kissed her quickly, and then smiled, "I love you, too."

"Oh, God."

They both turned their heads to see Cordelia, Xander, and Oz staring at them, in shock. Kennedy moved from on top of Willow, pulling the dusty sheets of the bed, on her, "Oh, God," she said, as the weight of the world seemed to crash back down on to her.

It was Willow's turn next, "Oh, God, Oz."

He stood there, looking at them, he mind too bottled to even process, "We have to get out of here."

Xander looked around the room, and spotted Kennedy's shirt on the floor. He went and picked it up, "Oz is right, we have to go," he said, walking over to them. He handed Kennedy her shirt, which she put on immediately, "Come on."

Cordelia frowned, taken back by how her boyfriend seemed to not be shocked at all by what they had stumbled upon, or what it could have been if they would have shown up minutes later. That's when things started to come together in her head, "Did you know?" she asked. He turned to her, and she stepped towards him, "Did you know about all of this…why they were late--You knew didn't you?"

"Cordy, I--" he began, not knowing how to finish.

"Why would you do this? Would you want someone to hid something like this from you, if were cheating?" she asked, glaring at him, "I get that you were friends with Willow first, but Oz is your friend too, and Willow is totally in the wrong here. Now, you've let all of us walk in on this--You let him see this, when you knew--You knew what we might see. Why would you do this--Unless" she stopped. Images flowing in her mind. Times when they were all together and Xander would be staring at Willow. There would be this look in his eyes, one that she couldn't quite place, but now--Now she knew what it was. What it had been all along, "Unless…" she looked into his eyes, "you're in love with her," she said, backing away from him, "You love her."

He reached out to her, "Wait, no," but it was too late. She turned away from them, and started to run up the stairs. She didn't know that they'd give out. All they saw was a cloud of dust, and heard the sound of snapping wood. She had fallen through the stairs.

"Cordelia!" he yelled, as he ran up the stairs. He looked at her through the wide hole, "Cordelia!" he said, again, seeing her at the bottom. There was something, he couldn't see it at first, but when the dust cleared, he could see it clearly. There was a metal rod lodged through her, just below her chest on one side, but not quite her stomach.

She looked up at him, "I fell."

"Okay, Spike" Buffy said, as they all walked out of the store, with sacks in their arms, "we got the stuff. Where are they?"

"What's your hurry?" he asked.

"My hurry is my intense desire to get you out of my life. You tend to cause trouble," she added.

"I'll be out of your life in a few short hours," he said, "No trouble at all," just as he finished his sentence, a group of vampires surrounded them.

"Hello, Spike," one of the said, approaching.

Buffy rolled her eyes, and sighed, "No trouble at all."

Spike looked at the tall vampire in front of him, "Lenny. How have you been?" he asked.

"Better since you left. You should have stayed gone."

He throw his bag aside, and then turned back to the vampire, "Is that right?"

Buffy took a step, "You know, he was just leaving," she looked to Spike, "Don't you start anything."

"This puissant," he said, motioning towards the leader of the pack, "used to work for me."

Worried, Buffy looked to Angel, who was standing next to Dawn, "The guys are in trouble. We can't risk this."

Angel looked at all the vampire surrounding them, at least twenty of them total, "I don't think we have a choice."

Lenny looked at them all, "You other three can walk away from this," he offered.

"I die, your chums die," Spike reminded.

Buffy groaned, "Sorry," she said, looking back to Lenny, "we're staying," she looked to her sister, "Dawn."

"Got it," she said, knowing what her sister meant.

"You won't be staying for long!" Lenny said, as him and his pack charged at them.

Dawn, who clutched her bag, unlike her sister and the two vampires, ducked under a few swinging fists, and made her way away from all of the fighting, ducking behind a blue postage box. She watched as her sister took on a few vamps at a time, staking them as fast as she could, some even at the same time. Then she looked to Angel, who was managing considering that he wasn't at full strength. Once she looked to Spike, she wasn't shocked to see that he was kicking ass, and completely enjoying it, unlike the other two. It seemed that when he was fighting, all of the moping and whining vanished. He was his old self again. Sadly, all of them fighting wasn't enough. There seemed to be more and more vampires showing up, and so they decided to retreat into the magic shop, Buffy grabbing her as they did.

Spike and Angel moved a large shelf, and put it in front of the window so the vampires couldn't jump threw it, as Buffy broke the ends of some chair legs, making them into stakes.

"This is so cool," Dawn said, in a whisper.

Buffy threw the two men a stake that she had just created, and kept one for herself, all of them standing ready to fight once the vampires outside would manage their way in.

"Why don't they knock down the door?" Dawn asked.

"Not that bright," Spike answered, "This should be a kick," he said, excited.

Buffy glared at him, "I violently dislike you," they turned when they heard something behind them, and saw that a few of the vampires had been smart enough to use the back door, "Here we go."

Kennedy, Willow, and Xander looked down at the girl, seeing that she was slowly fading. They had been watching for a while now, noticing that she was starting to focus on them less and less. Then Xander decided he wanted to go down to her, but Kenendy put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"No, let me go," she said, "I'm the one with the skills to get down there without breaking my neck," he gave her a look, which she returned, and then he nodded, "Okay," she said, as she began to climb down, only having a few places to place her feet, and nothing else.

"Be careful," Willow said, wincing as Kennedy made her way down. Once the girl jumped down, she looked at Cordelia, "Don't move Cordy. Oz went to go get help."

Kennedy went over to the girl, kneeling down beside her, "Hey, you," she said, "I know I'm probably one of the last people you want to talk to right now, but that's too bad," she laughed uneasily, rubbing some strands of hair off of the girl's face, "I'm going to keep you awake, okay?"

Cordelia nodded, "Okay."

She leaned down a bit, positioning herself where if she whispered, only Cordelia would be able to hear her, "Okay, um…well, I'll have to think of something interesting, won't I?" she asked. She heard Cordelia laugh a weak, almost mute laugh, "Good," she paused, "So, there's some things that have been happening to me--Things that I haven't told anyone, but I'll tell you. I won't let you die. I can feel you--I know that sounds bad coming from me, but it's true--I can feel you slipping. And--And there's this string, that's tugging at me…that's you trying to leave, but you can't. I won't let you. Can you feel me? Pulling back?" she asked. Cordelia nodded, "Good. That means I'm not going crazy," she said, laughing, "Then, there's been these dreams that I've been having. Well, most of them have been nightmares, but still…they're so real. It's like there's part of my life that I had forgotten, but now it's all coming back to me now…and things happen. I wake up and things are a complete mess in the room, and I have to clean it up before Dawn wakes up. Then, there was one time, in the kitchen, where I all of a sudden seemed to be in a different place…it was all chaotic, and blood, and fire, was everywhere…lucky for me, no one was home, because when I came back--there was blood all over the floors, and what I had put on the stove was on fire. I had to put the fire up, and wipe up all the blood, then wash the towels, fold them, and put them back before anyone got home. I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life," she said, with a laugh, "I wanted to tell someone, but every time I went to do it, something bad would happen. The electricity would go out, or something like that, and I took that as a hint," she leaned closer, "Even now…I know that someone's watching. They're standing over me, looking down at us…they feel so familiar."

"We need to get out of here," Buffy yelled.

Angel, who now had his back pressed to the front door entrance, trying to keep the rest of the vamps out, looked to the slayer, "Can we get to the roof?" he asked, and as soon as he did, the vamps pushed hard enough to knock him, and the door, to the ground. The door landing on top of him, and knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Spike was fighting the leader of the pack, who had just hit him hard across the face, "Yeah. I head you'd gone soft. Sad to see it, man."

"Soft?" Spike said, angrily.

"Yeah," he said, smiling through his fangs, "Like baby food."

Spike looked a little behind him, noticing that another vampire had approached him, and then back to Lenny, "Well, then. Let's give baby a taste," he said, as he began to take both of them on, staking the one behind him almost instantly.

Buffy dusted the vamps that came charging through the front door, and then went to help Angel up.

"I'm all right," he said.

"You're not up to your full strength yet, so stop with the act," she said, as he leaned against her.

He looked to the still rattling window, and then back to the slayer, "That window's about to go," he looked over to a shelf by them and spotted something they could use. A whole large shelf of them really, "Buffy."

She followed his eyes and saw that there was practically a whole shelf covered in little bottles of holy water, "Dawn," she called, "Come help us."

Spike now had his hand tangled through Lenny's hair and was slamming the vamps head on a table repeatedly, "Baby like his supper? Baby like his supper?" he asked. Then he flipped the vamp on to the table, "Why doesn't baby have a nap?" he asked. Then he staked him.

"Spike," Buffy called, "get down!" as soon as the bleach blonde ducked, the book shelf fell from the window, and the vamps broke through the glass. They threw the tiny bottles one after another, smoke filling the air, along with the yelps of the vampires as they turned to run.

Once all of them had gone, Spike stood up, a smile on his face, "Now, that was fun," he declared. Buffy and Angel looked at him like he was crazy, while Dawn just shrugged, "Oh, don't tell me that wasn't fun," he laughed, "God! It's been so long since I had a decent spot of violence. Really puts things in perspective," he watched as Angel tried to stand up straight, but only ended up leaning on Buffy more, "Oh, yeah. You two. Just friends. No danger there."

"Could we just do the damn spell now?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, sod the spell. Your friends are at the factory," he said, walking past them all, patting Dawn on the head as he did. He stopped in the doorway, "I'm really glad I came here, you know? I've been all wrongheaded about this--weeping, crawling, blaming everybody else. I want Dru back, I just got to be the man I was…the man she loved. I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place--I'll find her, wherever she is…tie her up, torture her until she likes me again," he took one last look at all of them, "Love's a funny thing."

"That's not even the half of it," Kenned said, still kneeling down next to Cordelia, "I haven't even told you about the whole S.A.T. thing," she paused, "So I get the test, right, and I'm freaking out. What the hell? Why am I taking this? I don't really be anything special when I 'grow up'. I figure I'll always do what I do, go out get drunk, go home, and get laid. Anyways, I open the first part, and I'm like what the hell is this shit? Then, I just started. I'm working all these problems that I know you guys learned on one of the days I was no where to be seen. First, I think, I must bullshitting this and it just looks right, but when I looked over to bubble it in or whatever…it was already bubbled. I think, score, one with the answers already, seeing that I got the same answer that was marked, but then it got a little weird. I looked at the next problem, just glanced, looked at the bubble thing…it's filled. Then I flipped through the whole book, like just straight flipped, looked over…they were all filled. Every single one of them. I'm all looking around, trying to see if maybe it's happening to anyone else. Of course it's not. We start the next section…the same thing happens. Then I was like, let me check them…all of a sudden I'm understanding all of the bullshit that I always said was useless," she shrugged, "Sure it's not as crazy as waking up in the ocean, but still…weird as hell. You actually had to work for your score. Not me."

"I'm going to come down," Xander said, getting Kennedy's attention.

When she looked up to him, she felt that string that she had told Cordy about slip. It was pulling her hard, taking her breath away with it. She turned back to her, "Sorry," she whispered, seeing that Cordelia's eyes were once again cloudy, "Xander, you stay up there. You hear me? She needs to focus on staying away. You stay up there."

Ignoring what the girl was telling him, Xander jumped down, and went to Cordelia's side, "Cordy! Please hold on. I'm so sorry."

Cordelia looked away from Kennedy, turning towards him, "Xander?" she said, her eyes growing cloudier, "I-I can't see you," she said, exhaling deeply. Then she was out.

"Cordy!"

Kennedy could feel it, feel it start to slip away completely, "God damnit, Xander," she said, looking at him, angrily, "I had it. She--I had it."

The priest stood amongst the crowd of people, the casket in front of him. It was another sunny day in Sunnydale, and another resident had died, "He created all things in order that they might exist. And the generative forces of this world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them, for the dominion of Hades is not on earth, for righteousness is immortal."

"So," Buffy said, as her and Willow walked on the sidewalk next to the cemetery, "Cordelia's going to be okay?"

"She lost a lot of blood. None of her vitals were punctured," the redhead answered.

"Has she talked to Xander yet?" Buffy asked, still not believing that she hadn't noticed that one of best friends was in love with the other. When she had been told what had happened, she couldn't believe any of it. Even the part about Kennedy and Willow shocked her. If it would have happened a few weeks, or months, before she would have believed it, but she couldn't believe it now. This made her think about what Dawn had said to her, and question herself. Was she spending enough time with the people she cared about?

"She wasn't aloud to have visitors at first. He's going to see her today," she said, sadly, "I can't believe that all of that happened. That she found out like that--He wasn't even caught doing anything like--Like I was."

"How's Oz?" the slayer asked.

Willow winced, thinking of how she had hurt him, "I never knew there was anything inside me that could feel this bad. For the longest time, I didn't know what I wanted. I wanted everything. And now…I just..I just want him to talk to me again. I want to explain…I need to explain."

"Just give it some time," she said, putting her arm around her friend, "and be prepared for some groveling."

"Oh, I'm ready. I'm all over the groveling."

"Good. Because, you know, I hear sometimes it works," saying this, of course, made her think of Faith. She hadn't really groveled at all after lying to the other slayer and having her find out in the most horrible way--through another friend. She hadn't manage to patch things up at all, and because of that, she hadn't seen the other slayer, other than from a distance that one time. The point was, she needed to fix things…before all the chaos began. Not only did she need to patch things up, so did Kennedy, "Wait, what about your thing with Kennedy. I mean, she told you that she loved you."

Willow couldn't help but smile, "I know," she said, remembering, "And it was so--amazing. But, after Cordy was taken to the hospital, Kennedy kind of vanished."

"She didn't come home last night, either," Buffy recalled, "I thought she was with you."

"Nope," she said, simply. Then she sighed, "I don't know…I think she blames herself for all of it. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, I know she didn't, and now Cordelia'a in the hospital, and Oz is all broken. And it's because of us. She's probably just needing some space right now…and I'll give it to her. But I'm definitely not going to let her take it back, or blame it on the situation."

"Good for you. You shouldn't let her take it back," she smiled, "Remember we're cripples. Sometimes other people have to show us what's right in front of us before we can realize it ourselves."

Xander stood in the doorway of Cordelia's hospital room, with a large bouquet in hand. He looked in, knowing that he shouldn't just barge in, and saw that she was facing the other way, "Can I come in?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he eased his way in, "They wouldn't let me see you until now," he said, putting the flowers on the tray next to her, "Those are flowers," he said, uneasily, as he sat down in a chair next to her bed, "Look, Cordy, I want you to know that I--"

"Xander?" she said, turning towards him.

"Yeah."

She looked at him for a moment, and then turned away from him, tears swelling in her eyes, "Stay away from me," she heard him sigh, and get up, and was glad to know that he was leaving. She didn't want to see him, possibly for the rest of her life. But, she knew that eventually she would have to go back to school and see him all the time. She needed time to prepare for that.

As he walked out, he bumped into Dawn and Kennedy, who had also brought flowers, "What are you doing here?" he asked, taken back by the fact that they were there.

"Duh," Dawn said, with a frown, "We're here to see Cordelia."

Kennedy, sensing that Xander wasn't in such a good mood, gave Dawn a little nudge, "Why don't you go inside. Talk to her a bit. I'll be in a minute," she watched as the girl looked in between them, eventually going inside, then she closed the door, not wanting Cordelia to hear, "What's up? What'd she say?"

"What do you mean, what's up?" he asked, angrily, "My girl--ex-girlfriend is in there hurting, and she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Right," she said, with a nod, "You just got to give her some time is all. Let her calm down a bit."

"She hates me. There's not going to be any calming down. She doesn't want me near her. This--This is your fault," he finally said. Kennedy looked down, and he stepped closer to her, "You're the one who said that you were fine. That you didn't need a spell, or anything like that, to keep you in control. Obviously, you did! If you didn't want to just be friends with her, why didn't you just tell her? Save us all from ever having to deal with being able to keep your hands to yourself. She gave you that chance--She would have broken up with Oz, and none of the whole bowling night fiasco would have ever even came up. But you just couldn't do it. You have to be the tough one, who can't admit that she's in love, 'cause it scares her."

"You don't know anything," she said, grabbing him by the shirt, "You don't know me. You think you can come up to me and tell me why I am the way that I am, why I'm such a screw up, why I screw up other people's lives--Well, you can't," she pulled harder, "Tell me then, if you think you know so much. Tell me why I can't sleep at night; tell me why every time around Willow something is telling me to run; tell me why my sister and I are so fucked up; Tell me why I always feel like I don't belong here," after he said nothing, she pushed him away from her, and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

He wiped his shirt where she had gripped him, straightening it up, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that. I'm just so frustrated, and--and I feel so guilty. You're right, I don't know anything," they stood there for a moment, and then he walked away.

Kennedy looked in the window to see that Dawn had been watching them the whole time, and was now walking towards her. When she stepped into the hall, Kennedy sighed, "Fucking drama, right?"

"What's going on with you?" Dawn asked, "Don't think that I can't see it."

"It's nothing. I'm just--I'm a little stressed out," she said, running her fingers through her hair, "She awake?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah. She's sort of in the middle of crying," Dawn said, looking into the window, "She wouldn't even look at me really. I guess she's trying to hide the tears," she looked to Kennedy, "I'm gonna see if I get her something to make her feel better. Maybe some jell-o," she said, excitedly, "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook," she said, hitting Kennedy playfully, "I don't know what's going on, but I'll get it out of ya eventually."

Kennedy smiled, "You always do," once Dawn had gone, she walked inside of the room, "Hey, you," she said, with a smile. She went and sat down next to her, "How you feeling?"

Cordelia turned to her, "How do you think?" she asked. Then she softened her voice, "I heard that you were the one that helped keep me alive. That you talked to me to try to keep me awake, according to the doctors, that helped a lot. So, thanks," when Kennedy looked away from her, she rolled her eyes, knowing what the girl was thinking, "You know, we've never been--I don't like you," she said, getting Kennedy to look at her, "but this isn't your fault, okay. If anything, you saved my life. I don't know what you did, or said, but I know that it was you that kept me awake…for a while at least."

"Yeah, well--" she had come to not only make sure that Cordelia was okay, but to also ask her not to tell anyone all the things she had told her. She herself hadn't figured it out, and she definitely didn't want the 'Scooby's' looking at it before she had, "It's the least I could do."

"I managed to get some jell-o," Dawn said, as she walked in, "Don't worry, Cordy, it is sugar free, so you won't be getting fat during your stay."

"Thanks," she said, taking it from the girl. After they had talked for a while, she started to feel tired again, and seeing that the two girls left her to get some rest. It was strange, but she had actually enjoyed their company. She was about to turn over to take a nap when someone appeared in the room, "June?"

She went to Cordelia's side, "You something I need," she said, in a hushed voice, "Don't worry, you won't remember a thing."

Angel looked up, hearing footsteps, and stood when he saw Buffy walk into the mansion, "Hey," he said, walking over to her, but then he stopped, knowing that going closer could lead to other things, "I was wondering when you were coming back," he said, not hiding the fact that he was happy to see her.

"I'm not coming back," she said, also staying in her spot, "We're not friends. We never were. And I can fool Giles…and I can fool my friends…but I can't fool myself," she laughed, "Or Spike for some reason--Dawn either," she shook her head, "What I want from you I can never have, and I can't put my life on hold for something I won't ever have. You don't need me to take care of you anymore. So I'm going to go."

"I don't accept that," he said, taking a step.

"You have to," she said, taking a step back.

"Look," he said, taking another step. She stepped back, again, "There's got to be some way we can still see each other."

"There is," she paused, "Tell me that you don't love me," he said nothing, just like she had hoped. It was strange, but for once she didn't want him to say anything, because saying nothing--that said everything, "I have to move on--Someone's waiting for me," she turned away from him, and sighed in relief to the fact that he wasn't following her. Finally, she knew she could let go. She looked inside her purse, and on the top of everything she saw a piece of paper folded neatly--Just Friends for Dummies by Dawn Summers.

It had happened, finally all the tension that had been rising within all of them had spilled over, and all of them were left unsure of where to go. Oz sat at The Bronze, which was closed, sitting on top of a pool table with an acoustic guitar in his lap. It just kept playing in his mind over and over, and he didn't know how to make it stop. Kennedy lying on top of Willow, them telling each other that they loved each other. It just didn't seem real. What would he do now? Would he leave it alone and move on? Could he move on? He didn't know, but life wouldn't stop for him to find out, and he knew that for sure.

Xander was at the library, putting all of the books that were on the table in the box marked return that was in the cage. All he could see was Cordelia; all he could hear was her telling him to stay away from him. He stopped moving, all of his emotions swelling up, because he felt that if he moved--if he took one more step--he'd fall apart. He had lost her--It was over.

Cordelia laid in the hospital bed, staring into space, thinking of how much she had given up. All of her old friends--who were jerks, but still her friends--her popularity period. She had given it all up, just for him, and he had just threw it all away. No, he hadn't cheated on her. He had done something worse. He had fallen in love with someone else, and left her dangling behind him. Not even sparing her the pain. That was so much worse.

Willow sat on the floor in her bed room, leaning on the front of her bed, letting the sun shine through the curtain from her French doors. She held the Pez that Oz had given her, and wondered once again what he had meant to her, and how she could do something so horrible. He had been nothing but good to her, and she had crushed him. She had fallen in love with someone else. Someone she wouldn't have ever imagined falling for. When they had all parted last night, he had said nothing to her. He didn't yell, he didn't tell her it was over, it was just known. It had to be over. She loved Kennedy, and Kennedy loved her. There was nothing else. And yet now she felt that she was missing part of herself, and she didn't know who was supposed to fill that hole.

There was a knock on her window and she stood up slowly, putting the Pez down as she did. She could almost feel who it was, could almost see them even through the door. When she opened it she smiled, "There you are," she said. She was whole.

Kennedy stepped in, "Here I am."

Buffy sat outside at the park, people surrounding her. Strangely there was a smile on her face. She finally felt like she was free. Sure, there was a big danger heading their way, she could feel that now, but she didn't feel that weight anymore--That weight she felt when she used to think of Angel. It had just simply faded. Once she left his mansion, it had all just faded. For once she truly felt that she could move on with no confusion, and no second thoughts, or turning back. She could just step forward, and that's what she planned to do. It had been the plan she had told Dawn about, a few days before, and she had meant it then too, but now she could really do it. She was ready.

She looked up as a shadow played across her, blocking the sunlight, and smiled, "Hey," she said, with a smile. They sat down next to her, still silent, and that made her worry for a minute, but then that grin played across their face, and she knew it was okay. That somehow it would all be okay, "I did not miss that shit eating grin. I know that's what you're about to say."

Faith grinned even more, "Damn right. And you know you did."

Spike sat in his car, speeding away from Sunnydale, with his radio blasting. He felt some change around him, and knew she was there, "I'm just wondering, considering how things went down, what was the plan you had?" he asked, seeing her in the backseat through his mirror.

June smiled, "I got what I needed," she said, knowing that was enough.

"So did I, love. So did I," he reached towards his radio, cranking it up even louder, both of them starting to sing the song, "I plan each charted course. Each little step along the highway. And more, much more than this. I did it my--Way!"

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Alright kiddos, that's the show…I mean chapter. I hope that you really enjoyed it. It was very fun to write, and I'm actually ready to get started on the next chapter. I'm not exactly sure what's going to be in it, or if it's going to be an in between or what, but I do plan to find out and get it pretty soon. Thanks again to all the reviewers, I really appreciate each and every one of them, and thanks for reading in general. You guys are great. See ya in a few days. Please review. -ThomThom


	19. Like Ripples on a Blank Shore

-1Here we go…It took me more time to find a title (listened to a lot of songs…like hours and hours and…), as usual, then to come up with ideas, and I must have a title, so yeah…now I'm ready. I'm glad you guys enjoyed me last update, and I'm glad that you're back to read another. I was a bit worried at first, about how I was going to do this, what I was going to do, etc, but then I just went for it, and this is what came from it. Now, I was originally going to make a few of you upset…because, I'm me…but I changed my mind, so you're lucky. For now. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, and for reading, you are all truly appreciated. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry it wasn't put up as soon as I thought it would be. I'm a bit sick at the moment, so I've been sleeping like crazy. Like to 3 in the afternoon, so yeah. Sorry. -ThomThom

Chapter Thirteen: Like Ripples on a Blank Shore

Buffy spread her fingers, letting the green grass tickle between them. It was strange, sitting next to Faith after all that happened, and she found herself unable to really speak. She had had it all planned out--The next time she saw Faith she would do the whole explaining apology, but it didn't seem to work out that way. Instead of apologizing, she was playing with grass, while occasionally glancing over at Faith, who was just looking around.

"So," she finally managed, "What have you been up to?"

Faith shrugged, "I'm sure you know what I've been up to," she said, casually. She got the response she had expected; Buffy giving her that blank stare, and she laughed, guessing that she wouldn't bring up the fact that Kennedy had been watching her, "The usual sitting on my ass fest, followed by a few vamps, and ending with a bit of a tumble…if you know what I mean," she grinned.

Buffy smiled, "Right. The usual," she said, knowing full well that Faith hadn't done any recent tumbling.

"What about you? Still being a science project for Joyce and Giles. With the whole constant scheduling, and what not?"

"I'm actually getting a little break from that, and entering into the world of 'where should Buffy go for college'," she pulled her knees to her chest, "Apparently I'm smart enough to move on to the next level of education, and so that has become the new topic among the adults."

"Well, good for you," she paused, "So you're leaving."

"No, I'm not leaving," she looked away from the other slayer, and then laughed uneasily, "After all the stuff that has happened over the course of the last two days, I'm pretty sure that this is where I'll be for a while. We had a visitor in Sunnydale, you missed out."

"Oh, yeah? Who was it?" she knew that this wasn't what Buffy was really wanting to talk about; slaying and all that, but she wasn't going to push for what she knew was coming. There was no point in it really. The way she figured, it was all going to end the same.

"Spike."

"That bitch," she laughed, "Oh, man. Did he bring that psycho who almost killed my sister?"

"Um, no. He actually came to get her back, 'cause they broke up. Though, I'm pretty sure it probably started out as some revenge trip. It turned into more of a kidnap Willow, best friend of the slayer--or one of, so she can do a love spell to get Dru to love him again," Faith raised her brows, which Buffy laughed at, "Yeah, it was that pathetic. Kennedy was in the mist of it all, too."

She frowned, "What the hell could she do for him, in the magic department?"

"I'm thinking, he didn't really mean for her to be there while he was taking Willow, but it only helped him, 'cause he just threatened to kill her if Will didn't get the job done. Like I said, you missed out. It took everything for me to not stake him while we had to collect all the love spell ingredients, but I managed to keep myself from killing him."

"I would have taken his head off instantly," Faith said, honestly. She still remembered the fact that Kennedy had almost been killed while the blonde vamp and his crazy girlfriend were trying to get Druscilla her strength back. If she saw either one of them again, she was pretty sure they'd be dust, "Kenn's okay though, right?"

"She had a little head bump, but other than that, she's physically okay. Emotionally, I'm not so sure. While her and Willow were locked in the basement together, apparently, there was a bit of a love confession, that involved Kennedy not having a shirt on, which Oz, Cordelia, and Xander walked in on, while trying to save the day. Then, Cordelia managed to figure out the little fact--which I had not even known--that Xander was in love with Willow, and while trying to storm off, she fell through some stairs, and was impaled by a metal rod thingy. Luckily, everyone is physically still in tact," she sighed, "I'm just wondering how all of us are going to recover from this. We're basically all standing on different sides of a cliff right now. Then there's the fact that Willow's not sure if Kennedy's going to take it all back, or not."

Faith looked down, "Oh, she won't. If she got the balls to say it, she sure is hell ain't gonna take it back. She might fuck it up, but that's a whole different thing."

"I guess. But you can't get mad at me if I beat her up for breaking my friend's heart. It's sort of a best friend duty that must be done."

"I wouldn't know."

That was a blow to her, and she knew it. It was time. She had to do it; get it over with before the conversation went into a downward spiral, "Gosh," she huffed, "it seems like I do this a lot with you," Faith looked at her oddly, "The whole messing things up. Faith," she took a deep breath, closing her eyes, "I'm sorry. God, I'm such an idiot for not saying this in the first place--Or for not just telling you the truth, which probably would have been the best route to take," Faith sat there, now looking down at the grass, not saying a word. She had expected her to say something--Preferably of the nicer sort. Like a 'it's okay, B' or a 'Yeah, well, people make mistakes'. One of those typical Faith statements that meant she had another chance to make things right, but she wasn't getting a response at all, "Look, I know that I've kind of chosen--certain people, over you multiple times, but--"

"Kind of?" Faith interrupted, turning to the other slayer angrily, "You've kind of chosen 'certain people' over me?" she shook her head, "What the fuck are you expecting here? What do you want from me?" before Buffy could answer, she went on, "I'm not just gonna come runnin' back, yo."

"I know. I know that you're not going to just forgive me," she snapped her fingers, "like that, that I'll have to work to gain your trust back. Do the whole friendship thing again, and then--"

"Buffy, there's no 'then'," she turned herself completely where she was facing towards the other slayer, "There's no then, okay? I can do the whole friends thing, that's fine. But--But I won't say there can ever be more than that. I want us to be able to talk, and help each other out when this big bad, that I know you're feellin', finally comes full force, but I'm not sure I want anything else. Not from you."

"Oh," was all she could manage. She was beyond shocked, beyond hurt--she felt nothing. This wasn't what she had expected to ever happen. It definitely isn't what she had wanted to happen. Yet, now that it was happening, she couldn't help but think that she was stupid for thinking that it wouldn't happen. Did she really expect to be forgiven for what she had done? Forgiven again? But then again, she hadn't felt like it was over, either, "But--I mean. Is what you're saying like a forever type of deal, or--"

"I can't see the future, B. All I know is what is right now. Right now, for me, doesn't include," she waved her hand between them, "this," she touched Buffy's hand, and then moved it away, "I know that, um, this might be a bit hard, but I'm sorry. No, I'm not even sorry. I don't want to hurt you, but--I don't want to be hurt again, you know?"

"And I won't," Buffy said, desperately, "I won't hurt you again."

"Oh, so you can see the future?" the other slayer, was silent, "You can't tell me that one day some other thing won't happen with Angel, and you won't go runnin' to his side, or start lying to people again, or just abandon them period. You can't tell me that. And I don't want to sit around waiting for it to happen. This just ain't meant to be, B. Face it. You'll always be for him…you'll always be his."

"No. I told him that I couldn't do it anymore. We're done."

Faith rolled her eyes, "And when did you do this, yesterday? Today? Come on, B. And don't tell me you did it for me, 'cause you didn't. You did it for yourself. For you and only you. Which is why you do everything else that you do. Don't feel bad about it. It's human nature. Nobody wants to be alone. "

That was true, she didn't want to be alone. She had experienced that when Angel had died, and she had left Sunnydale. It was scary, and tiring. She didn't want to go there again, but she hadn't really thought that what she wanted to start with Faith was her attempt to keep herself from being alone. She had friends, she had family; she wasn't alone at all. Sure, she'd be single, but that was not the same. What she wanted from Faith wasn't about being alone, or not being alone, it was about what she was feeling--wanting, and it just seemed right. It was one of the few things that made sense to her, "But what about this," she looked around, "I finally make up my mind, and I just coincidentally bump into you. The one person I wanted to see most."

Faith looked down, that last part threatening its way through her heart into her soul, "I can't explain that, but I know that I wasn't looking for you," she huffed, "Wow, that sounded really shitty, and telling you this will only make it worse. I'm, um--I'm meeting June. I'm meeting her here. That's why I'm here. You being here, I can't really explain. Slayer connection maybe. Unless, you're meeting someone, too."

"Negative. I just decided to take a stroll," she looked around, again, wanting to spot the girl in question, for some reason, "This thing you have, with June--"

"We're friends," she interjected. She turned away from Buffy, looking a little away from them, spotting June as she appeared, "Isn't she supposed to be more stealth with the magic?" she asked, laughing, but she stopped seeing that Buffy was far from amused. She stood up, dusting herself off, "Look, I'm right there with you when the next thing comes, alright? I want us to be cool," she sighed, "Are we?"

Despite what she was thinking, what she was wanting, Buffy nodded, "Yeah. We're good."

"Good," she said, with a smile, "I'll see you later then."

Buffy watched as Faith walked over to June, feeling that tinge of jealousy that she knew Willow had felt when Kennedy would hang out with the mysterious blonde, and then she stood up herself, "That went well," she said, sarcastically.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Willow walked back into her room, with a glass of water. She handed it to Kennedy who was sitting on her bed, "There you go," she said, with a smile.

"Thanks," she took the glass, making sure not to drop it, and then turned to Willow, who was now sitting next to her, watching her, "It's a little weird to drink things when people are staring," she said, with a slight laugh.

Willow turned her body, putting one of her legs beneath her, "It's just that I was a little worried after you just took off, after they took Cordy."

Kennedy nodded, "Sorry, I just needed some time, you know?" she stood up and put the glass on Willow's dresser, and then went back to her spot, once again looking at the Pez that Oz had given her. When she had sat down earlier, she hadn't seen it, but as soon as she stood up to see what was beneath her, she knew that Oz had given it to her. Not only because she had seen part of the exchange--no, she had forgotten about that really--but because it was the type of gift he would give. It was weird and it was cute; it was definitely a gift he would give, and one she wouldn't really think to give, "Have you talked to him?"

"Um, no," the redhead watched as the other girl moved the Pez between her fingers, feeling a little uneasy, "I doubt that I'll be really talking to him for a while. With what happened, and everything," she took the Pez from her hand, and laid it aside, not really wanting to talk about Oz. What she wanted to talk about was what had happened, and where they would go from there. It was something huge; it was a love confession; it needed to be talked about, "Kennedy--"

"But you're going to, right?" she said, turning to her, "You're going to talk to him."

Willow frowned, "What asking me, Kenn?" she stood up, suddenly, crossing her arms, "I knew this was going to happen. I just knew it," she huffed, "I even talked to Buffy about it, and I told her I wouldn't let it happen. You came here to take it back, right? To tell me that it was just an in the moment slip, or whatever. It's just like you."

"Wait. Whoa," she stood up, "It's just like me? Do you even know me? Really, do I seem like the type that just says crazy things when I'm in a tight spot? Because it's not like it was the first time I'd been in the line of death, Will. And I'm sure as hell not the type to take shit back. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say," she put her hands on the girl's hips, "There will be no taking it back."

For a moment, she still stood there with her arms crossed, looking to the side. She hadn't expected all the 'It's just like me?' or the 'Do you even know me?' and she wasn't going to question any of it at the moment, but in her mind it did seem like something Kennedy would do. It wasn't like she had been the most forward person in terms of their relationship, at any time. Sitting back and waiting really wasn't doing anything, not that she blamed Kennedy for all that times she hadn't broke up with Oz, it just--No, she wasn't going to go there, "You're not going to take it back? You do love me?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I do. I love you," her smile faded, and she removed her hands from the girl's hips, "But--"

"But--?" Willow asked, already feeling the tears wanting to come. The girl hadn't said anything really, but that word--that 'but' automatically set off her emotions, because she knew there was more to come after it. There always was.

"But," she turned away from her, taking a few steps, "there's a lot of stuff going on right now. All of the oncoming danger, and my sister and I--we have some things that we need to work out, before it comes, and then there's me--and things are so crazy for me right now. I'm just a little unsure."

"About what?" she asked. When Kennedy didn't answer, she went over to her, and turned her around, making her look at her, "About what, Kenn?"

"About everything," she said, with a sigh. She was frustrated really, but she didn't want to let that show, because she knew that the redhead would think it had to do with her, when really it didn't, "I don't know how to explain this really--I did it once, and I don't think it came out right--Look, I just don't understand some of the things I've been feeling, doing, saying…a lot of things have just been coming from nowhere for me, so I'm not sure if it's a good time--to, uh, you know…"

"Kenn, we're finally in the clear here. You're available. I'm available. Now, all of a sudden, there's some other issue--which I'm still not seeing--that you're going to let come between us?"

She looked down, "I'm not letting it come between us," when she looked back up into those green eyes, she knew the girl wasn't going to understand what she was saying. Why would she? It wasn't like she was spelling it out to her. But that wasn't her choice. She didn't know how to explain it, or at least not to where it made sense, and didn't hurt the girl's feelings, "I'm not letting it come between us," she said again. Willow frowned, waiting for her to go on, "It is us."

"What?" she rolled her eyes, "You're not making sense. Just tell me--" Willow shook her head, feeling herself become angry, and frustrated, "No, don't even do that. Are we doing this, or not, Kenn?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn walked quietly into her room, sneaking into it like it belonged to someone else, which it sort of did because Kennedy was in it more than her. She was looking for something, anything that would give her some idea of what was going on with Kennedy. Since the day she had come back to Sunnydale, after the whole Faith and Rachel event, Kennedy hadn't been her usual self. Yeah, she was still sarcastic, conceited, and all of that, but there was something different about her. It wasn't always there, or at least Kennedy made it seem that way, but there were times where she'd get this dark look in her eyes, then she'd seemed confused, and sad--It was hard to explain it, to pinpoint it even, but Dawn had seen it, and she wanted to know what it was. She needed to know.

She went into her closet, and pulled out a bag she knew Kennedy kept in there. It had some weapons in it; knives, crossbows, stakes, and other things like that; things she wasn't looking for. After moving all of the weapons aside, she finally found something that might tell her what she needed to know. She hadn't expected to find some pink and frilly diary, but she knew there had to be something. What she found was just as good. It was some sort of journal, with papers trying to come out, but they were held in with some sort of leather strip wrapped around it.

"Bingo," she said, taking it out of the closet, so she could see better. She ran her hand over it, her eyes gleaming, and then opened it quickly, "Alright, tell me all your secrets," once it was open, she had to struggle with it a bit to keep the papers from falling. It was like Kennedy had torn out some of the pages, and then put them back or something, and she knew that if they got all out of order Kennedy would definitely notice. After she had it all in her hands, and was positive that she wouldn't drop it, she was able to read the first page of it, which wasn't an entry really. It made her smile instantly.

"How'd I know that you would find this? Dawn, if you don't put this back right now, I will never speak to you again. I'll even move out, so get to it. No, don't go on and read just one page, because one will turn into two, and then ten, and then the whole thing, so put it back. Whatever you're looking to find out, I'm sure I'll tell you about it. Just give me some time. God, you're the nosiest person on the planet. Bye kiddo."

"Well," she said, laughing nervously, with it open in her hands, "Really, I don't see what one page will do. I'll just find the most recent entry and--"

"Dawn, what are you doing?" Buffy asked, stepping into the room. She had been standing there for only a second, but she saw that the girl's closet was open, and Kennedy's bag within it was open.

"Um," she closed it quickly, and moved it around until it looked like it had when she had found it, ran to her closet, put it in the bag, closed the bag, and then closed her closet door. Then she went over to her sister, "What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."

Buffy rolled her eyes, turning to leave the room "You do realize that I have eyes. I saw you holding it, and I could see you when you were rushing to put it back. I even saw you close your closet door," she headed down the stairs, Dawn following close behind her, "Where's Mom?" she asked.

"She went to the store to get some groceries. Said something about all of us eating too much junk food, or something like that," they walked into the kitchen and she pulled out some chips, "I have no clue what she's talking about. I think we're a pretty healthy family."

"Chips aren't healthy, Dawnie. They're tasty. There's a difference," she poured herself a glass of lemonade, and then turned to Dawn, who was sitting on a stool on the other side of the island. She took a few ships from her, ate them, and then cleared her throat, "Bumped into Faith today."

"Hmm," Dawn said, raising her eyebrows, and trying to chew faster. Once she managed to swallow, ignoring the discomfort of it, she was able to say more, "Really? That's--Wow. You just bumped into her?"

"Yeah. Not literally, thank god, but yeah. I was taking a walk, and decided to stop at the park to just sit around and think for a while, enjoy my new single life--With your help of course--" she said, with a smile, "I was sitting in the down, and then wham, there's Faith."

"How awkward was it?" the girl asked, knowing the two of them hadn't seen each other in a while.

Buffy shrugged, "It was okay, when she first showed up. Then, it got kind of silent, which made it a little weird. Eventually, I managed to say something, and after talking about what's been going on lately--Not the drama with us, but like the whole Spike arrival, and Kennedy and Willow. Then she said something, and I took it as my cue to apologize," she stopped talking, not really wanting to go on to the rest of it, and just shook her head, knowing that Dawn would get it.

"Oh, Buff, I'm sorry," she said, sympathetically, "Well, you had to have known there was a possibility that--Hopefully, she'll come around eventually. Are you at least going to be friends again?"

"Being friends is an option," she mumbled.

Dawn nodded, "Well, that's good. Just give it some time. Be patient, and hope things don't go to hell in the meantime."

Buffy laughed, "Yeah," she took a swallow of her drink, "So, you want to hang out? Help me stay in a good mood, and away from Angel?"

"I would love to, especially that last part, but I can't. I'm a little busy."

"Going through Kennedy's stuff?" she asked.

She gave a sarcastic laugh, "No. I have a school project that I have to do…and I wasn't going through her stuff. I was re-organizing it."

"While also reading her private journal. Oh, I see," she said, smiling.

"Hey guys," Kennedy said, walking into the kitchen.

Dawn shot Buffy a look, which the slayer responded to with a nod, and then looked to Kennedy, "Hey, where've you been?" she asked.

"Yeah, we were a little worried," Buffy added.

"I've just been wondering around, and I, uh, stopped by Will's," she laughed when both of the girl's made girly whooping sounds, "Cut it out."

"How'd it go?" Dawn asked.

She put her hands on the island, "Well, it's official," she said, lifting her brows, "We are a couple."

Buffy frowned, "Why don't you sound too happy about that?"

"Oh, I am," Kennedy said, quickly, "I'm happy. I'm just not sure the timing is good," she said, worriedly.

"Why not?" both the sisters asked, in unison.

"There's just a lot of stuff going on," there was a knock at the front door, "I'll get it," she said, happy that she was able to leave the room before all the questions were asked. She wasn't in the mood to go through it all again, especially after talking to Willow. She was just too tired.

Once Kennedy was out of the room, Buffy turned to her sister, "You know where you threw that journal?" she asked, now a little concerned about Kennedy herself. There was just something about the way she had said all of it that wasn't right. It was--There was something she wasn't saying, and it was something beyond all of the drama within their inner circle.

"Don't worry," Dawn said, glad to see that her sister was seeing what she was seeing, "I'm on it, later."

Kennedy opened the door to see a girl, around Dawn's age, standing in front of her. She was about her height, with long dark brown hair, her long bangs swooping to one side, accenting her green eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned, like her own, and she was wearing a black t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and red converse. It was odd, but it was kind of looking at a green eyed, younger version of herself--Except they looked nothing alike really, it was just the outfit.

"Can I help you?" she asked, after looking her over. It was weird for strangers to show up at the Summers residence, and it usually was a bad sign. Luckily for the girl in front of her, Kennedy wasn't getting any bad vibes. The girl seemed a bit nervous, standing with her hands in her pocket, and biting her bottom lip, and so Kennedy let her guard down a little.

"Hi," the girl said, with a slight husky voice, "Uh, I'm Leah," she stuck out her hand, and was grateful that the older girl shook it, with a good grip at that, "Is Dawn here?"

Kennedy laughed unintentionally. There was a girl, a rather cute one she had to admit, and she was asking for Dawn. That was what she had laughed at. Not that Dawn wasn't great, and also cute, in a completely younger sister type of way, it was just--something about it was funny, "Hold on," she said, to the girl. Then she turned her head towards the kitchen, "Dawn! It's for you!"

In the kitchen, both Buffy and Dawn frowned, "Huh?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"I've just been laying low," June said, as her Faith continued to just walk around Sunnydale. They had been walking around for a while, not really talking about anything serious, but now it was time to put the jokes on hold for minute, "I told my mom about all the drama and stuff, so she took me on a little trip to try to make me feel better, and stuff like that. It was pretty cool to just spend some time away. I didn't get back until like two days ago. That's why you haven't seen me around."

"By around you mean poppin' up at my place," Faith said, laughing, "I was a little shocked by your sudden use of the phone, I must admit. Wasn't expecting a 'hey, meet me at the park' call," she paused, "But I'm glad I got one," she admitted, "It's been a little tense around here. My sister's been watching me. Crazy shit like that happening, and sometimes you need a break, you know? Apparently, uh, there was some chaotic events in their circle, too. If you hadn't been doing the whole laying low thing, I'm sure they would have tagged you responsible."

"I'm sure they'll find a way. But, I'm not really worried about it right now."

"Oh, really? You, the girl who thought the world would end once they found out you were a witch? Suddenly you aren't so scared anymore? Man, that must have been one hell of a vacation," she had figured the girl had been lying low, after that whole freak out session she had had, but she hadn't expected her to be so mellow. She had expected her to come back as cautious as ever. To tell her that she was hiding because she was still afraid, not that she wasn't worried.

"It was. It was exactly what I needed actually," she grinned, "It would have been better if you were there, but I can't have everything."

Faith laughed, "There you go again. You're so flirting with me."

"I wasn't flirting," she said, innocently, "I just said that it would have been better if a friend was there with me. That's not flirting," she smiled, "We are friends, right? I'm not just walking around telling all my deep dark secrets to someone who I mean nothing to?"

"No, we're friends," she knew that June was just messing around. She was being her usual self from back before everyone found out about her, "Just to warn you though, the last friend I had hit the road."

"Right," she winked, "Didn't you sleep with her?" Faith hit on the arm, playfully, "I guess that's not part of our friendship, then," she said, laughing, "But hey, you never know--"

"Whatever," the slayer said, rolling her eyes, "I'm staying clear of sex, and relationships for a while. It all just ends in drama for me."

Now was her chance to ask a question she had been wanting to ask since the moment she had seen Faith sitting with Buffy, and she was going to take it, "So, what were you talking about?" Faith looked over at her, "You and Buffy, I mean."

"Oh, nothing really. She gave me an update on what's been going on with her, and all of the Scooby gang, stuff like that. Kennedy and Willow got caught in a bad spot--which included an overheard love confession type of thing--somehow Cordelia got hurt. All the relationship drama," June gave her a look, a look telling her that she knew there was more to it, so she went on, "And…she apologized for all that lyin' mess she put me through."

"Ah, that," June said, facing forward.

"You were right, though. It wasn't you that was supposed to tell me what had been going on with her and Angel, that was her job. Now that she's being all open honest, though, she's expecting things to go back to the way they were."

June looked over at her again, "Is that what you want?"

She thought about it for a moment, "I--I just don't want to go through all that again. It just seems like when it comes to me and B, things never go right. I leave town, or there's something going on with her and Angel; there's always something, and usually--It's not me who's making the mistakes. Sure, there was that whole Rachel thing, but that was after she did the slapping thing. It's not like I owed her anything. She wasn't even mad about that--she actually helped me through everything while Kenn wasn't talking to me, so I thought--I thought maybe that it would work. She was so nice, you know? And making me get out, eat, and all that. I figured, yeah, why not? Then, she lied to me, and it all went to hell again. No, I'm definitely not wanting to have to relive any of that any time soon."

June smiled, draping her arm over Faith's shoulder, "Good," she said, making the girl stumble as she put most of her weight on her, which made them walk crookedly, "That means I'll get even more time with you."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn frowned, seeing who was at the door, "New girl?" she shook her head, and also hit herself mentally, "Sorry, I mean--"

Kennedy, who was standing a little behind Dawn, along with Buffy, leaned forward, "Oh, that's rude, Dawnie," she said, teasingly.

Leah laughed, "No, it's fine. I've gotten that a lot lately," she looked at the two older teenagers, who seemed to be amused by something, and then turned her attention back to Dawn, "I guess I should explain my why I'm here, so this will be a little less awkward. I, uh, I just moved into this neighborhood, into the house right there," she turned, pointing to a house two doors down from the one across from the Summers house, and then turned back. Seeing that all of them had poked there head out to look, she laughed again, as the two older girls took a few steps back, after Dawn had glared at them, "Anyways, I saw you coming out to check the mail this morning--And I figured you don't just come out of any house in tiny shorts and a tank top--Pegged that you probably live here."

Buffy leaned towards Kennedy, "Dawn checks the mail in stuff like that?" she asked, horrified.

"Who doesn't?" Kennedy asked, still listening to the 'new girl' talk, "She's funny."

"Giving that I haven't been going to school here long, I was a little thrown off by the sudden school project situation, and it didn't get any better when I tried to actually do it," she laughed, nervously, "Since I was having trouble, and you seemed like the only other normal person in our class, I thought maybe you could help me. If it's not too weird of me to ask," she held out her hand, "Oh, my name's Leah, by the way."

Dawn shook the girl's hand, "Dawn. Of course you already knew that, 'cause you asked for me. Um, yeah, I'll help you with your project."

She smiled, "Cool. I'm not really thinking that failing is a good idea. Don't think my parents would like it either, so this means a lot. Well, uh, I have all the sh--stuff, I need to do it, I just don't know exactly how to do it. But, look, my mom and I are about to make a run, so is it cool if I come back later?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Dawn said, also smiling.

"Alright, then. I guess I'll see you later," she looked past the girl, "All of you, I'm sure. Thanks again."

They all watched as the girl jogged back across the street, Buffy frowning at the whole situation, "First, I think that was a joke…it was not funny. 'All of you, I'm sure,'" she said, mocking the girl, "Second, how weird was that?"

Dawn closed the door, "You guys are embarrassing," she said, heading back into the kitchen, "Now I probably seem like I'm part of this freak of nature family, who has staring problems."

"You know," Kennedy said, ignoring Dawn's comment, "I'm a little upset here. I mean, how dare you drool over someone other than me," she laughed, "'Cause man, you were drooling. It was like watching a dog pant."

"That's great guys," she said, as Buffy and Kennedy continued to laugh, "Laugh it up. You're so funny," she grabbed the bag of chips, "I'm going to go to my room now, you guys can stay down here and act like the freaks you are," she said, as she left the kitchen.

Kennedy turned to Buffy, "Isn't that why she loves us, though?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm perfectly normal," they laughed for a moment, and then she remembered that she was going to tell Kennedy about her whole bump in with Faith, "Oh, hey, I was going to tell you--I talked to Faith today."

"You went to her place?"

"No, I actually just ran into her. We only talked for a couple minutes, then--" she took a deep breath, preparing herself for Kennedy's reaction, "Then she told me that she was meeting June, who then showed up, and they took off."

"Yeah--" she said, waiting for the slayer to go on.

"Yeah--What? I thought that maybe you'd, you know, want to add your own two cents. Maybe make a few remarks about June, say what an idiot Faith's being…something in that realm of thinking."

"I'm just a little tired right now," she leaned on the island for a moment, as to exemplify the fact that she was tired, and then stood up straight, "Tell you what, I'm gonna go take a shower, see if that will help me be more awake, and then we can talk about this. Is that okay?"

Buffy nodded, "Sure," with a nod, Kennedy left the room, and headed upstairs. Buffy frowned, "Okay, that was weird."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith and June continued to walk around, with the sun fading, though they knew they had passed the same places dozens of times. They both had needed that distraction, something to bring them out of themselves, and spending time with the other seemed to be the solution, even if there was a bunch of drama surrounding them. Neither one of them were really thinking about any of that. Not anymore.

"No, I'm telling you. There has to be some sort of slayer healing thing that will keep me from dying from something as stupid, and small as that," Faith said, laughing.

"So you admit that it's stupid then?" June asked, also laughing, "You just said it yourself. I think if you can describe a bad habit as stupid and small, then maybe it's time to give it up. Don't you think? I'm just saying, Slayer strength and healing can't protect you from everything."

"Well, I'm not thinking about dying anytime soon, don't worry. Don't tell me you've never taken a puff or two yourself," the other girl was silent, "Ah, see. You have. Here you are giving me shit about my smoking habits when you smoke yourself. There's a word for that…what is it?"

"I'm not being a hypocrite," she smiled harder, "Sure, I've had a few cigarettes in my life, but--what I smoke now is a little bit different from what you smoke."

Faith frowned, then that grin spread across her lips again, "No fucking way."

"No, before you say anything, it's different," she rolled her eyes, "It's a magic thing."

"Right," Faith said, unconvinced, "At least I'm not breaking any laws."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you're not twenty-one, and drinking is against the law, am I right?"

"Maybe," she stuffed her hands in her pockets, "But I won't be getting any more beer anytime soon," June gave her a questioning look, "I won't. I'm starting to run a little low on cash. My dad had sent me some--"

"Where you're staying? Is that safe? Do they have mailboxes?"

"No, I have it sent to the Summers house, and it magically appears at my front door. I guess Kennedy's not so mad at me to take my money and spend it herself," she shook her head, "She'd burn it before she'd spend it, what am I talking about? Glad she doesn't though, I'd have a little trouble keeping a place to stay if she did get rid of it."

"It might not even be her bringing it to you. She's not the only one living in that house, and I'm sure she's not the only one that checks the mail. There's three other people that live there," she looked around to see where they were, "Hey, we've wondered back into my neighborhood. Good, 'cause I'm hungry," after a moment, she looked to Faith, "You want to come inside? You could eat with us, or whatever."

Faith laughed, "Is this a way to try and get me to sleep with you?"

"I'm pretty sure it's not," June smiled, "Come on, it'll be--interesting.

"You're kidding, right?" Faith asked, still laughing, "You're not seriously asking me to come inside and eat with you and your mom. That would be completely weird, and awkward. Have you seen my table manners?"

"Wow, you're really trying to get out of it. You scared?" she asked, "'Cause it seems like you're a little scared. You think I'm gonna turn you into a rabbit, and keep you locked up in a cage, so I can cuddle with you at night?"

"No, but that sure as hell isn't making me want to go in, you psycho. I bet you got all kinds of animals in there that used to be people. You're just waiting till they get fat, so you can destroy the evidence," she laughed, "But hey, thanks for the invite."

"Yeah, you are scared," she threw up her hands, "I get it. You want to be that loner that slayers are so known to be--except for Buffy--You'd rather sit at home and eat alone. Drink a few beers, smoke a few cigarettes. I get it--Well, you're out of beer, so I guess you'll just have to smoke, till you run out of those too, and then you'll run out of money completely. What will you eat then?"

"Please, you're totally talking out of your ass right now to get me to come in, and it ain't working," she pushed the girl playfully, "You're gonna have to work on those skills. I think that's the only department you're lacking in--not that I know how everything works with you," she added, realizing what she had said, "Why do I hang out with you?" she asked, laughing.

"Did you just compliment me--in all departments? Hmm, and you accuse me of some kind of flirting," she walked up to her door, putting her hand on the knob, "What have you got to loose? My mom's completely embarrassing, but still, that only hurts me. You'll get to hear all those stories about me running around naked when I was little."

"Oh, you mean yesterday," she said, grinning.

June laughed, "Funny. Very funny. Remember, we talked about that whole age thing. You said you weren't going to mention it anymore. It's not like I'm that much younger than you--just a year--or two," she grabbed the girl by the arm, "Come on," she opened the door, pulling Faith in behind her, "Mom, I'm home! I brought someone!"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Kennedy walked out of the restroom, already in some pajama pants and a small tight tank, drying her hair with a towel. She did feel a little better, but she was still really ready to call it a day--or night, since the sun had also gone down while she was in the shower. All the drama was really wearing her out, and talking about her sister definitely wasn't going to help her at all, but she knew she had to do it. She had told Buffy she would, and plus they'd have to deal with the situation eventually. She just wished that there was no situation in the first place. None of that crap with June, or any of the other stuff going on. Of course, the universe had its own plans, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Before she headed downstairs, she went into Dawn's room, which was sort of her room, so she could grab some socks, because she had forgotten to grab some before hand, "Hey," she said, as she walked in, "You guys are still doing that?" she asked, seeing that Leah was there even though it was getting late, "I can't remember the last time I spent that long putting together a school project."

"That's because you don't really do your work," Dawn pointed out. She watched as Kennedy walked around the room, her hair still dripping, occasionally hitting her exposed abs. As usual, the girl looked amazing, "Kenn, you're dripping on my carpet," she said, to keep herself from saying something embarrassing. She turned to Leah, "She thinks this is her room."

"I do kind of sleep in it, Dawnie," Kennedy said, as she grabbed the socks she wanted, "Don't worry, carpet dries."

"I've heard that," Leah said, nodding, "I've also heard that there could be mold, though."

Kennedy smiled, "Is that right?" she laughed, "Well, I'll be more careful then," she went back over to the door, and then turned back to them, "You staying for dinner, kid?"

"That's what I've been told," the girl answered.

"Good," as she walked out of the room, she couldn't help but smile. She was glad that Dawn had finally managed to find a friend. An actual friend, that was her own age. There was no telling how well things were going to work out for her, with everything that was going, and she wanted to make sure that Dawn had someone to talk to--if she wasn't there.

Buffy looked up from the couch as Kennedy walked into the dark living room, which only had light from the television, and the bit coming in from the kitchen, "Longest shower ever goes to--" she gestured towards Kennedy, and they both laughed, "You feel better?" she asked, as Kennedy sat next to her.

She put on the socks and then sat back, "Little bit," she sighed, "How long has the 'new girl' been up there with Dawn?"

"Forever," Buffy rolled her eyes, "You and Dawn left me with grocery put up duty. That meant more time with Mom talking to me about my future education, while also inviting Dawn's new friend to dinner. Joy."

"She seems cool," Kennedy shrugged, "I think it's good that Dawn's finally letting her life branch outside all of us, you know? No one needs to deal with all this drama when they're as young as she is, trust me. I was dealt that hand, it was a shitty one, let me tell you," she pulled one of her legs beneath her, "Speaking of--Let's get to it. What are you thinking?"

"Nothing really," the blonde said, pushing a strand of hair behind her hair, "I just don't think it's such a good idea for all of us to be so divided when there's something coming, and I'm not sure Faith's spending so much time with June is really going to help us."

"We already know that," Kennedy said, leaning her head on the cushion behind her, "Look, I know that seeing her today--after I'm assuming you tried to apologize--with June had to suck, but if we're going to try and fix things--Well, it can't because you're jealous, or anything like that. All of that stuff just gets in the way, Buffy."

"I know," the slayer nodded, "And I'll admit there was some jealousy, and as long as those two are talking, there will be, but--I can put that aside to get all of us back on the same page. It was all of our drama that screwed it up, after all."

She huffed, "Yeah. Isn't it always us? Any time we all need to stay together to fight off some big new evil--or ancient evil--it seems like something happens within our group that just makes things all complicated."

Buffy remembered what June had said to her, and how it sounded a little like what Kennedy was saying to her right at that moment. They were all so far apart, some of them not talking, some of them were, but she had a feeling that June had been right--that they'd all be needed. She looked at Kennedy, "I haven't really told anyone this, because I took it as a message that I needed to be the one to take on the full load--"

"Just like a slayer."

She smiled for a moment, and then let it fad--It had been forced, anyways, "That day, that you went to talk to Faith--I went there, and I had a little run in with June."

"Seriously?" Kennedy frowned, "Why didn't you say anything? Did she threaten you?"

"No," she shook her head, "Or at least, I don't think--No," she concluded, "But she, um, she said some things about how we're all too wrapped up with ourselves to see what's heading our way. She said that she was here to wake us up--that she had seen it; she had been there. Wherever there is--when she thought about it, she got this look in her eyes. She looked sad. She told me I didn't know what fear was. Then she told me--" she thought about telling Faith about the whole love part of it, and then decided against it, "Then she told me to keep everyone safe, 'cause they'll all be needed in the end. With how things are going--"

"Right," she bit her bottom lip, and ran a hand through her wet hair, "So you're thinking that the best thing we can do right now is fix all this--get everyone to come back to the same side. But, Buffy some of it can't just be put back together like that," she snapped, "With the whole cheating, and impaling issues--that'll take time."

"I know that. Those things will take time, but in the mean time, we need to fix the one issue we both have in common. We have to get her back--I can't fight her. If June is evil--or even if she isn't--Faith needs to be on our side, because I can't fight her--I don't want to hurt her, and I know if it comes down to that," she paused, "I'll have to."

"Don't you think you're jumping a little ahead, here? If June's not evil, then what could happen to Faith, other than her getting herself into trouble?" she looked at the slayer, and now she could see it. There was something she wasn't saying. Something important concerning her sister. She wanted to get her to tell her; to force it out of her, but she figured that if Buffy wasn't saying it--maybe she didn't want to hear it, "Okay."

"Okay? So, we'll fix it?"

"We'll try," Kennedy added, "Because she's going to have to join in on the fixing, or this isn't going to go well at all."

Joyce walked into the living room, "Hey, dinners ready," she sensed that they were talking about something serious, and figured that it was some sort of slayer thing, and got a little worried, "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, Mom," Buffy said, getting up, "Everything's fine."

"Okay," she didn't want to get into any argument with the girl, so she nodded and left it at that, "Well, go get Dawn and Leah. Tell them it's time to eat. Thanks, girls," she said, walking back into the kitchen.

"Oh," Buffy remembered, as Kennedy stood up, too, "Dawn invited Willow, just to let you know."

Kennedy laughed, "She just can't help herself, can she?" there was a knock at the door, "Speaking of, Willow."

"I'll get Dawn, and that other girl," Buffy said, heading up the stairs.

Kennedy walked over to the door, taking a deep breath as she opened it, "Hey," she said, smiling. She moved over a little, so the girl could come in, and then closed the door, "So Dawn called you?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "I hope that's okay."

She laughed, "It's more than okay," she wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, "I needed a bit of cheering up, anyways. Who better to do it than you," she kissed the girl quickly, "I'm feeling better already," they stood there for a moment, eventually hugging each other tightly. Kennedy sighed, closing her eyes in relief, "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too," Willow said, pulling back. She laughed, "You're dripping on me."

Buffy turned from looking at the two of them, happy to see that things were working out for someone, because they sure as hell weren't working out for her. She went to Dawn's door, and poked her head in, glad to see that they were actually doing school work, and not--well, anything else, "Dinner's ready," she watched as the girls stood up, all while making jokes and laughing, thinking that maybe Kennedy was right to be happy that Dawn had a friend--only a friend though, because Dawn--in her mind--wouldn't date anyone, girl or guy, until she was thirty, "Willow's here, too," she said, as they headed towards the stairs.

"Yay," Dawn said, excitedly, "You'll get to meet Willow, she's really nice," Dawn said, looking to Leah. It was weird, she hadn't really thought that she'd find someone in her own grade that she'd actually want to be friends with, but Leah seemed nice enough. She was funny, and cool, and well--not that she had standards on what potential friends had to look like--she was attractive. But that didn't matter. No. They were friends, and friends weren't supposed to be checking out friends unless the friend asks if they look okay, or if they ask if something is on the back of their pants--which there wasn't, "Hey, guys," she said, seeing Willow and Kennedy at the end of the stairs laughing about something.

"Hey Dawn," Willow said, still smiling, as they approached.

"Willow, this is Leah," she said, gesturing between them, once they were all standing in front of each other, "Leah, this is Willow--Kennedy's girlfriend," she added.

Leah shook Willow's hand, "Nice to meet you," she smiled.

"You too," she said, returning the smile, "Do you go to school with Dawnie?" she asked, as they all made their way into the dinning room.

Buffy and Kennedy walked behind them as they continued to talk, "We'll go to Faith's afterwards," Kennedy whispered. Buffy nodded, and then they all sat down, "What are we having?" she asked, as Joyce walked in holding plates, "Oh, let me help you."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith stood in the doorway of June's house, still thinking how weird it was that she had eaten with the girl and her mom, who was crazy. Crazy in a funny, too cool to be so much older than them, kind of way, though she didn't seem to be over thirty--thirty-two max. She hadn't really asked, because it would have been a little intruding. The woman had done everything she could to embarrass her daughter, and it had worked out pretty well. She had never seen June blush before, but as soon as her mother started telling stories, that actually did include June running around naked when she was a baby--like she had predicted--June couldn't stop blushing, while also telling her mother to knock it off. Of course, Catherine, which is what the woman insisted Faith call her, just kept going. Then, she even started to hint at the fact that two girls should date--It was an interesting night.

Now she was standing in the doorway, waiting for June, who had ran to help her Catherine with something in the kitchen, to come and walk her out. She had said that she didn't really need help opening and closing a door, but June told her to wait, and so she was. It was weird but, she had felt herself lighten up; let her guard down, while she was having dinner with them, and it didn't seem to be going back up. June seemed to be having that affect on her all day, but now, as she stood waiting, it seemed to be at its highest level. She didn't feel the need to hide. The need to keep herself at a distance, like she had with everyone else, including her sister--sometimes. It felt good to just relax…it felt good to have someone.

"You ready?" June asked, running back over to Faith, "Hurry before she figures out that you're still here," she said, pushing the girl out of the door, and also grabbing a jacket, "She is the most embarrassing person ever."

"I think she's pretty funny," Faith said, as she watched June put her jacket on quickly, "You kind of act like her."

"Don't ever say that to me again," June said, laughing, "Isn't it ever kids nightmare; ending up like their crazy parents?"

Faith reached into her own jacket pocket, pulling out a cigarette, and was about to light it, when June took it from her and threw it down on the porch, "Hey! I just went a few hours without one, I think I deserve a puff or two, don't you," it wasn't a question. She reached into her pocket to get another one, but June grabbed her hand, and all of a sudden their surroundings changed, and they were in her motel room. After getting over that slight dizzy feeling, she realized that June was still holding her hand--now both of them, instead of just one, "I'm never going to get used to that," she whispered.

June smiled, "Holding hands?" she asked, knowing what Faith had meant, "Well, there's only one way to get used to things like this--"

Faith laughed, not pulling her hands away, "First you tell me you're not the biggest flirt in the world, now you're saying that you want to hold hands with me."

"I didn't say I wanted to hold hands with you," June laughed, "Wow, jumping to conclusions, aren't we?" she stepped closer to the slayer, "I swear, you're the one thinking about all of the stuff you're accusing me of. That's why you're the one saying it," another step.

"Really?" Faith said, noticing that June was inching closer to her, "'Cause I'm thinking that it's all you, and I'm just pointing it out."

"Hmm," she pulled the girl's arms around her waist, pulling her closer, and then put her own arms around Faith's neck, "I'm still saying it's you."

Faith laughed, feeling a little nervous, which was strange to her, "Well, you're full of shit."

She grinned, "Am I?"

"Yeah, you are," she could now feel the girl begin to press their body's together, and she almost started to pulled back, she almost told her to leave; to tease her by saying something like, 'You wish, kid'--but she didn't. She let herself be pulled closer, all while looking into the girl's bright blue eyes, "You're not going to kiss me, are you?" she asked, part of her wanting the girl to pull her usual stunt, and teleport out of the room--but it wasn't happening. There was no snap; there was no laughing and separating; there was none of that. There was only June coming closer and closer to her lips.

She waited until their lips were almost touching, when she could feel the girl's breathing, "Yeah, I am."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"I cannot believe that Leah made that joke with my mom sitting right there," Buffy said, as her and Kennedy made their way to Faith's.

She laughed, "I know, but it was so fucking funny. Then the look on Joyce's face, and man, Will was blushing like no other. It was hilarious. I love how Dawn automatically started explaining that Leah was joking to your mom, that just made it so much funnier."

"I don't think Mom will be inviting her to another dinner any time soon," they both laughed, and agreed, "It must have been nice," she said, a moment later, "to have Willow there."

"It was," Kennedy said, keeping the smile on her face, "It was pretty great actually. I'm glad Dawn wasn't able to keep her nose out of it for even a second."

"I am too," she nodded, "It was cute, the two of you holding hands under the table," Kennedy rolled her eyes, and gave her a little push, "What? It was."

"You know what would have been cuter?" Kennedy asked, knowing exactly what she would say next, and how the slayer would react. Buffy asked what, and she smiled, "If it would have been Dawn and Leah. Aren't they the cutest thing?" Buffy glared at her, "I'm kidding--sort of."

"There will be none of that, with them," the slayer said, firmly, "I don't want my sister getting too close to someone who makes a bunch of dirty jokes, even when parents are around," she paused, "That must be Dawn's type, because--come to think of it--Leah acts just like you."

"She does not," Kennedy said, laughing.

"Oh, please, she so does," they walked up the stairs of the motel, "I mean, she even kind of dresses like you used to--you're less with the rock dressing now, but I know you've still got some of that in you. Then there's the perving over--" she stopped talking, and they both stopped walking, "Oh, my--"

"God," Kennedy finished, as her and Buffy stood, a little bit away from Faith's room, looking through the other slayer's window and seeing June and her kissing. It wasn't Faith's usual kiss, Kennedy had seen the way Faith kissed guys--all for the using, and nothing else; chaotic. But what she was seeing now, it was slow--it wasn't lust hungry--there was something to it. June turned them around, where Faith was the one closer to the bed, and slowly made Faith sit, and then lay on the bed, all while kissing her as she herself climbed onto the bed. It was strange, but she couldn't look away. She was hypnotized. Then June lifted her hand towards the window, not turning to look out of it, and the blinds shut instantly.

Kennedy shook her head, "Son of a bitch," she whispered, knowing that June must have known they were there. After a moment of just standing there, staring down at her shoes, she remembered that Buffy was with her, and turned towards her, only to see that the blonde was already jogging through the parking lot. Kennedy ran down the stairs as Buffy disappeared around the corner, "Buffy," she called, low enough where she knew Faith wouldn't here, "Shit…stop," she rounded the corner, and slowed to a stop. There was no need to keep running, because Buffy was fine, or she would be. The blonde slayer stood, with her arms tightly around Dawn, who was hugging her back, and Kennedy sighed in relief, glad that Dawn had once again been unable to stop herself from snooping. She turned back towards the motel, "It never stops," she mumbled.

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Okay, well, that's it. It was a bit longer than I thought it would be…oh, well. Anyways, I hope you liked it…or that it was somewhat enjoyable. I'm not really sure if I'm going to dive straight into my version of 'The Wish'…which will be very complicated, and somewhat different than the original…or if I'm going to do another 'in between' chapter. Of course, once I figure it out, I'll let you guys know. The one thing I do know is that if I'm going into the re-make, it's going to take me a while, because I'll be adding a lot to it, and changing a lot of it--I can't have a chapter that basically only includes Cordelia, Oz, Giles, and vampire Willow and Xander--so I'll have to figure out a lot of stuff. Anyways, like I said, I'll let you guys know. In the meantime, feel free to review. Thanks for reading, you're all amazing. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry if there's typos. I've been trying to work on that.


	20. Eye Openers and Morning After Pills

Hey guys, thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, and who also gave me their take on what I should do for 'The Wish' re-make. Um, to answer a question that was brought up a lot--yes, it will be very easy to tell the two realities apart, simply because certain characters will be in one, and not the other. That being said, I am going to do it my way, meaning with Kennedy going between two realities, and I promise to make it easy to follow, in a sense of telling the two apart--not in a non-cryptic kind of way. I'm really looking forward to doing that, and I'm in fact going to take a week and a half to write it, just to get it right, and then I'm going to type it. Not only because I want to get it right…but also 'cause I'm going out of town next week, and so I have no choice. Anyways, like I said, thank you all. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Fourteen: Eye Openers and Morning After Pills

She opened her eyes slowly, turning towards the window, to see that it was still dark outside. The type of darkness that told her that it was early, not late; that the sun would be rising soon, and since she was awake, so would she. It wasn't until a moment later, when she tried to get up, that she felt weight on the left side of her body. An odd sort of weight that she had never felt before. It was damp; it was planted; and yet, it was moving. After hesitating, her clouded mind now seeming to clear, she turned her head, noticing on the way that she was naked, and then settled on what was cuddled up next to her. It was a person. That told her why she hadn't immediately recognized it. It's not like she had ever been with anyone, in one place or otherwise, long enough for them to get the chance to even suggest cuddling of any kind. No, it had always been get some and get gone. And yet, she found herself in the position she was in; she found herself in bed, her own bed, with someone else, and she wasn't running for it.

Faith turned her head from looking at June, and instead looked at the ceiling, ignoring its cracks and possible future leak areas. She wasn't sure how it had happened--she knew--and yet she didn't know. When it had fist begun, she had expected it to be somewhat like all of the other times she had had sex, especially seeing how forward June usually was. She had expected it to be a simple--well, fuck. Minus all of the possible stuff they felt outside of four closed walls, about each other. It was supposed to be messy, chaotic; pure lust, and nothing more--but it hadn't been. The kiss, she had expected to eventually go more into the wild way of things, had only gotten softer, longer. Every touch, every kiss--soft. June wasn't letting it be anything other than that, Faith had tried, but it was evident that for the first time--she wasn't going to be in charge. The one moment she had thought maybe, just maybe, it would turn out to be just like all the other times she had sex, was when June had aggressively closed the curtains, using magic of course so she didn't actually have to get up. There was something in that moment, something Faith had seen in the other girl's eyes, that made her wonder for a moment. She wondered if the next kiss would be rough; if it would hurt, and whether she'd feel less exposed. Because that was the actual problem; she had felt exposed, weak, fragile--like one more soft touch would break her from the inside out. But it had been nothing, nothing at all. When the blonde had leaned back down, to kiss her again, the aggression had left. It left the moment she let her raised hand return to its place on Faith's side, and she saw then--there was no turning back. No matter how much she wanted to run, or to tell the girl to leave, it wasn't going to happen, because even though what she was actually terrified, that only pulled her to go further--to let go a little bit more. So she did. Slowly she let herself be taken in the most intimate sense.

As she stared up at the ceiling, she could still feel the girl's warmth across her body--even within her there was still…something there. There hadn't been a moment that the girl had let her go, let her fall, or try to escape--it had been so different, so tender. Every single moment of it had been that way, and when it was all over--after what seemed like a lifetime, to Faith--June didn't revert to her usual sarcastic, confident self. She had laid beside Faith, seeming not to struggle catching her breath, like Faith was, and just sighed--as if she were relieved. Then she had turned to Faith, and asked her if she was okay. That was also something new. No one had asked her how she was after they had just had sex. Why would they? But, June had asked it, and Faith--she had to think about it. She had looked away for a moment, still breathing heavily, but it wasn't because she was tired--though after a second, she noticed that she was--it was like she was in shock. Possibly even having a panic attack. June, who was still very close to her, propped herself up on her elbow, then used her other hand to put under Faith's chin, and make her look at her. She asked the question again, and Faith could only nod. Then she had asked if Faith wanted her to leave--another question she had to think about--and Faith managed to say no, in a quiet, cracked voice. The last question was if Faith wanted her to stick to the other side of the bed--another question she thought about--she said that it didn't matter, and that's when June had laid herself in the position she was now in; with an arm draped across Faith's stomach, her body pressed against her, and her head on Faith's shoulder, while Faith's arm was around her. Then, she guessed, she had fallen asleep. She had never fallen asleep so easily in her life.

She looked back at June, seeing that the girl was completely knocked out, her breathing slow, her expression calm--she was comfortable, and so was Faith really, but there was no way Faith could go back to sleep. That wall was trying to go back up--it was building itself, brick by brick, struggling hard to pull her back in--but as usual, when she was with June, it wasn't happening. Even while the girl was asleep, she had a certain hold on her. The only problem was--though, Faith would admit she felt something towards the girl, she wasn't sure it was what June was feeling. Basically, Faith found herself thinking--'she's not Buffy', and for that, she felt guilty.

A noise outside her window pulled her out of her thoughts, and she turned her head to see a figure walk past it. It wasn't her neighbors, she knew that, and it wasn't some random whore looking for some action--no, she knew who was outside her window. She would have been happier if it were some kind of demon, than who it actually was. With a sigh, she turned back to June, and moved herself--her body seeming unnaturally heavy--from beneath the girl, lifting her head slightly, and then she moved the arm across her stomach as well. When June seemed to stir a bit, as she just slowly rolled onto her stomach as if reaching for her, Faith moved the girl's hair off of her face, and whispered that she'd be back, and the girl just drifted back off, which was definitely a relief. Then she grabbed a pair of shorts, and a shirt, put them on, and then grabbed a cigarette and her lighter. She walked over to the door, looked back over at June to make sure she was still sound asleep, and then took a deep breath as she walked outside.

Once the door was closed behind her, she leaned against it, and lit her cigarette, "I knew it was you," she said, in a whisper, not turning in their direction. The chill in the air made her shudder a bit, as she took another puff, and then let the smoke flow from her mouth--their silence unnerving, "What are you doing here, Kennedy?"

After she had walked Buffy and Dawn home, Kennedy had gone for a little walk, mostly to get rid of all the anger she had had to conceal while walking the two sisters home, and eventually, she had found herself back at the home of the source of her anger. Really, she hadn't planned on Faith walking out until after the sun had risen, and she was willing to wait there for the few remaining hours until it had, but the fact that she had come out early made things easier, especially seeing that her sister knew it was her and not some demon, that she would've probably instantly tried to kill.

Kennedy looked at her sister closely, noticing the gloss coming from a thin layer of sweat, and that undeniable relaxed stance she was in--she knew then, that they had had sex, "So you let her stay the night, then," she whispered, "That's a first."

Faith frowned, throwing down her cigarette, and walked over to her sister, "What are you doing here, Kenn?" she asked, again, "I know you're not here to just pay a friendly visit, or anything like that, so why don't you just say what you're gonna say, and then get out of here."

"You in a rush to get back to her?" she walked away from her, going over to the railing of the walkway, and then turned back to Faith, "Is she waiting for you?" the slayer didn't say anything, "Oh, wait, she didn't tell you that I knew she was here, did she?"

"What are you talking about? Stop fucking with me, I'm not in the mood. This really isn't the--"

"Tell me," she said, cutting her sister off, "what was it? Did she whisper sweet nothings into your ear, or tell you that she loved you? How the hell, did she do it? I mean, you've never been one to just sleep with someone who actually--well, no, that's a lie--you'd sleep with anyone. That's who you are, but this…this was different, and I want to know--how she pulled you in so quickly; so easily. What was it that told you that you could trust her, with all the crap that's going on; what was it that told you it was a good idea to sleep with her?"

She bit her bottom lip, now seeing what it was all about. Kennedy knew. She knew that June and her had slept together, somehow, and wasn't so happy about it, "How--"

"Got a little show--before the show really began," she nodded towards he blinds, "They were open, before she did her little magic closing thing, so I got to see the beginning--of what I assume, by the way you walked out of your room--of a long night of fucking."

Now she knew where the aggression in June's eyes had come from; she had sensed Kennedy outside. It wasn't like the girl was on good terms with Kennedy, or any other person that was considered to be a 'Scooby', of course that made her a little--upset. The only thing that bothered Faith was the fact that June hadn't told her that Kennedy had been out there, but--as she thought about it; about the moment they were having, and what was going to follow--she could understand why June hadn't said anything. It was very unlikely, like she had stated earlier, that Kennedy had come to pay a friendly visit earlier, just as she hadn't now. Why let someone get all upset, when you could give them something else entirely…

Kennedy laughed, "Don't tell me--," she said, noticing her sister was thinking, and her change in expression, "It wasn't just fucking. I thought that maybe, after a few softer kisses, it had turned into the usual fuck--Didn't know you were capable of anything else. I'm just still wondering, you know? You've never made such a stupid decision before--and you've a made a lot of them--so I'm just wondering how, and why, you made this one."

"Look," Faith finally managed, "I'm really not wanting to fight with you right now, or do any explaining, either. What I do, is none of your fucking business, just like what you do, is none of mine. If you want to yell at me, or talk shit--which is all you've done lately--you're gonna have to do it another time. So keep those questions fresh in your mind, or maybe write them down later, but right now--at this very moment--I'm gonna need you to get the fuck away from me."

She stepped forward, "No," she crossed her arms, "Answer my damn question. What is it, Faith? What is it about her that makes you crumble so easily?" she asked, taking another step.

"I said, get the fuck away from me," her fist now clinched, and her teeth now grit--she was ready for things to turn ugly. She had hoped they wouldn't, had tried to even avoid it, but now she saw that the only way that would have been possible was if she had stayed in her room.

Kennedy took another step, "I bet Buffy's wondering the same thing," she noticed her sister's expression change immediately, still keeping that bit of anger, but now also worry, "I didn't tell her, if that's what you're wondering. It was actually worse than that--She was with me earlier--when June did her little trick. Let's just say…she didn't take it well," Faith looked away from her, and turned her head towards the door. She could see that the girl was thinking, but before she had a chance to question her, Faith took off down the motel stairs, and started off in the direction that led to the Summers house. Kennedy nodded, "Don't fuck it up," she whispered. Then she turned back towards the motel, "Now for the other one."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

June rubbed the hair, that had fallen onto her face, therefore waking her up, off of her face, and sat up slowly, onto her knees. She looked around her for a second, her vision kind of hazy, and then sat down completely, because it hurt her legs to sit on her knees. Her sense of reality, which had also been hazy, returned to her, and she noticed that she was naked--and she remembered why. This is how it worked every morning, when she woke up in a world other than her own. It was like a computer rebooting itself after some major thunderstorm. First, she'd regain her sight. Then the feeling in her limbs, followed by her sense of reality, and eventually her magical connection with all that surrounded her.

Today, as she realized that it was actually very early in the morning, reality told her that she had had sex--with Faith--she soon remembered. The night flooded back into her head, and body, as if it were happening all over again, as her eyes closed, and a smile crept onto her face--but then it faded. She opened her eyes to see that Faith wasn't there, and then remembered that she said she'd be back--but along came her connection, and she realized that Faith was far from the motel room, and that someone else was outside--More specifically, Kennedy was the one outside, and Faith was heading towards the Summers residence. She got up and went over to the dresser in the room, grabbing a pair of shorts, and a shirt. Then she sat back down, at the end of the bed.

She had to make sure that her emotions were under control, before she walked out that door, because if they weren't--she could end up doing something stupid, "Come on," she said, gripping the shorts she had on. First, she had to deal with all the anger--she was angry that Faith wasn't there, and that she was going to Buffy's--that she had lost to Buffy, again--and she was mad that Kennedy was outside waiting for her. She was far from in the mood to deal with the girl's attitude, and assumptions about who she is, and why she was there. Then, she had to deal with her sadness.

She took a deep breath, pushing everything back, "This better be the last time I have to fucking do this," she stood up, and walked over to the door, "'Cause I can't go through this again," after one last deep breath, she turned the knob, and walked outside, "What do you want?" she asked, coldly.

"Good," Kennedy said, with a smile, "You're awake. I was wondering how long you'd be, seeing that you just had to deal with all the slayer stamina," she said, practically spitting it onto the ground.

June laughed, "I'm beyond things like that," she grinned, "I wasn't the one who was out of breath when it was all over with," she walked over to Kennedy, first seeming like maybe she was going to strike the girl, and then turned to put her hands on the wooden fence railing, instead, "How's Willow?"

With a sudden, fierce, anger within her, she grabbed June by the shirt, and pulled her away from the rail, slamming her against the outside wall of Faith's room, "Is that supposed to be a threat?" the girl laughed, and so she slammed her against the wall again, "You think you're fucking funny? Toying around with all of us; fucking up our lives."

"Well," she smiled, "there was some fucking involved, but I don't think we're talking about the same kind," she grabbed Kennedy's wrists, "By the way," she said, putting her face closer to the other girl's, "I don't like it rough," she head-but the girl, only hard enough to make her lose her footing, and her grip--not hard enough to really hurt her. She watched as the girl put her hand over her nose, "Don't worry, it's not broken. Sorry about that, I just don't like it when people overstep their boundaries, and think it's okay to get physical with me. Buffy should have told you that--though I didn't hit her back."

"You son of a bitch," Kennedy said, angrily, "Stay the fuck away from us, okay. I don't know who the fuck you are, or what the fuck you want, and until you're actually going to be honest about all of that--I don't want you near any of us, because I'm finding it a little hard to believe that you're not here to screw us over."

"See, that's not fair," she said, gritting her teeth, "I'm not the one going around always looking for a fight. You and Buffy go around acting all high and fucking mighty, thinking you can push people around, and do whatever the fuck you want--I find it hard to see you as the good guys," she sighed, trying to control herself, "I'm trying," she said, closing her eyes, "I'm trying really hard to not do something stupid right now, but you're not making it easy. Now, I suggest that you go home."

"I'm not going anywhere--Until you tell me that you'll leave, perminately," she stood her ground, fighting the urge to hit the girl, and also prepared for another blow, "I didn't come here to fight you--believe it or not--and I don't want this to get any more complicated than it already is. All I want is for you to either be honest about why you're here, or leave," she paused, "My idiotic sister may trust you, but I'm not so easily swayed--I actually listen to what the people care about me say, and so I just can't trust you completely until you're honest with me. So if you're hoping that stupidity runs in the family, then--"

"You shouldn't do that," June said, cutting the girl off, "You shouldn't talk about her that way," she continued.

"I'm just telling you what I see--what I know, even," she was supposed to be taken off guard by the girl's step forward, sending a fist flying towards her face, but she hadn't been. She had seen it the moment the girl had started to move, and immediately put her hand up to catch the girl's fist, "With the ways things have been going for me lately," she said, squeezing it tightly, "Touching without permission isn't really a good idea, especially if you can't hide when you're gonna go for it."

June smiled, "Please, I was going slow on purpose," before Kennedy could even get a word out, she hit her hard in the stomach, making her stumble back against the wooden fence rail, "But I can speed up, if you'd like," she hit her in the stomach again, hearing all of the air being forced out of us, "Now, what were you saying?"

Kennedy kneeled down for a moment, gasping for air, and holding her hand to her stomach. The girl hit hard as hell, too hard to be simply a witch--it made her curious to know what else she could do. She stood up straight, "Good thing my sister was meant to have slayer strength, she's not bright enough to learn a spell that'll give it to her," the girl hit her again, this time across the face, and she felt her lip split, "God, you have one hell of a punch," she spit some blood out of her mouth, "My turn," she swung hard, getting her first punch blocked instantly, and then hit her target with her other hand, "That's one--you hit me twice in the stomach, so take one more, and we'll call it even," she said, smiling, "One thing that me and my stupid sister have in common--we fight for blood."

After taking a hit in the face, June laughed, "Good, so do I," she kicked Kennedy in the chest, sending her flying backwards, crashing through the wooden fence railing, and then onto the ground. She walked over to the edge, and looked down as the girl started to stand up, "Since you're already bleeding, doesn't that mean I won already," she jumped down, "Or do I need to go for more?" she grabbed one of Kennedy's arms, and twisted it behind her back, pushing her up against the base of the motel, "'Cause I could do this for hours."

"Don't you have some sort of mission to complete?" Kennedy asked, trying to push through the pain she was feeling. There was definitely no way that June was just a witch. When she had trained with Faith, when they were younger, she had done better against her, a slayer, then she was doing against June, "Or is killing me just a part of it."

"Quite the opposite, actually," she pushed the girl forward, and then let her go, taking a few steps back, "If you stop, then I'll stop," she said, honestly, now that she was reminded that it wasn't her job to kill the girl--and that killing her would only make her life extremely difficult, "You can talk shit about me all you want, but--she's off limits, got it?"

She turned towards June, her lip bleeding, and her heart pounding, "Oh, so she wasn't just a simple fuck, then?" the girl pushed her, not extremely hard, but hard enough for her to stumble back a little, "I think I've hit a soft spot. Geeze, just when I thought you didn't have a heart--I guess sluts just make you weak at the knees," the girl pushed her again, this time with more force, and something odd happened. Instead of seeing June, she saw her surroundings turn white, like a puff of smoke was blown at her. She could here a muffled sound of what she assumed to be June yelling at her, but she couldn't understand what the girl was saying, even when it seemed the smoke began to fade, and she could once again see some of what was surrounding her. There was another push, she knew that, and another puff--this time, it stayed longer--and then it started to fade. Another push--more white, but this time, it didn't go back. It felt like her body was being jolted repeatedly--and as she felt herself fall to the ground, everything went silent. Something was happening--just like the times when she'd be alone and found herself in a different place--a place she didn't recognize. But this time there was nothing but the white fog; so white that it was almost blinding. Then there was a hand, first seeming to be far away, reaching towards her, and there was a soft voice calling her name.

June, who now stood with her back to Kennedy, a few feet away, was breathing heavily, trying to calm herself down. She looked down at her hands, seeing that there were sparks flaring from them, and her body tingled, "Damn it, Kennedy. I just want to do my fucking job," she said, angrily, "If it takes me telling you, then fine. I'll tell you why I'm here, but no more hitting, or talking shit, got it?" after standing there for a moment longer, and noticing that Kennedy wasn't responding in any way, she turned around to see the girl sitting down, because she had pushed her to the ground, leaning against the wall. But something was different. Her eyes were open, but she didn't seem to be looking at anything. June took a few steps towards her, "Kennedy--you okay? Shit, I hope I didn't give you some sort of head injury," she stressed, knowing that if she'd had, she'd be in trouble, but that wasn't it. Kennedy lifted her arm slowly, and reached out, but not towards her, and that's when she knew something was happening, "Oh, shit," she walked over to her, quickly, but as soon as she reached out, Kennedy's eyes seemed to begin to fog, and then she disappeared completely, "Shit, shit, shit," June took a deep breath, rubbing her hands together, and then reached out as fast as she could, hoping to feel something to grab a hold of…and she did. She felt the fabric of the girl's shirt, barely, but it was there, and she pulled hard, "Oh, no you don't," she yanked her forward, and she appeared suddenly, now unconscious, and June fell backwards, due to the sudden weight. She sat up, pushing Kennedy off of her, "How the fuck was I supposed to know that was going to happen?" after dusting her legs off, she stood up, and then grabbed Kennedy, and put her over her shoulder, "This is going to be a great day."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith ran as fast as she could, finally reaching Buffy's street. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, or what the other slayer was going to say, but she knew she had to say something. Not necessarily apologize--because technically, she had no reason to--but to just say something, because the last time she had seen the other slayer, she had told her that June and her were just friends. Being that Buffy had seen what Kennedy had seen, she was probably thinking otherwise, and also thinking that Faith had lied, when really, she hadn't lied at all. She had learned that lying about things like that didn't usually go well, because of the other slayer, and she wouldn't do it just to hurt her--though part of her felt that she deserved it. What she had with June--she didn't even know what it was, and she didn't want the other slayer assuming it was something, that it wasn't.

Once she was beneath the girl's window, she froze, looking up at the house. She noticed a curtain move, and looked a bit to the side of Buffy's window to see Dawn looking down at her. The judgment coming from the young girl could be felt even from where she stood, and she felt a weight fall onto her shoulders. Really, she expected the girl to open the window, and tell her to get lost, but that wasn't happening. Instead, Dawn simply nodded, which she returned, and then disappeared into the room again.

"That's my cue," Faith said, taking a deep breath. She climbed up to the slayers window, wondering how many times Angel had done the same thing, and if the slayer still kept it unlocked for him--or if the whole losing his soul thing had made her more cautious. When she reached it, and found that it was unlocked, she guessed otherwise, and pushed the thought away, so she wouldn't go in only making things worse. She pushed it up far enough to be able to get in, and then stepped in softly, closing it behind her. Then she turned to look in the room, and saw that Buffy was standing at the door, leaning against it, "Hey," she whispered, not wanting to wake the girl's mother.

"Hey," the blonde said, also in a whisper, "You breaking and entering, now?" she asked.

"No, that's not really my thing. I'm more into barging in, getting a little scare in first," she took a few steps, as did Buffy, and sighed, "Kenn--she told me about…about you guys bein' there, when--when…"

"When you were making out with June," Buffy finished, "Yeah, we were there," she folded her arms, and sat on her bed, looking down at the floor, "You should really start closing your blinds. Kennedy says that you leave them open all the time."

She laughed, "Yeah, well, she would know," she went back over to the window, and leaned against the wall, trying not to look at the other slayer, "Look, I'm real sorry about that whole--about you seeing that. I wouldn't have wanted you to see something like that, you know?"

"I guess I should know how it feels now," Buffy said, looking over at Faith, "This is what you felt, isn't it? When I lied to you about Angel, and I? Except, you didn't have to see it, so--"

"No," Faith said, angrily, turning to the other slayer, "I just had to hear from one of your closer fucking friends--'cause I wasn't part of the fucking club," she looked away, "Really didn't come here for this."

"Then what did you come for, Faith? Huh? What is it that you'd like to say?" she put her hands in her lap, and clutched the end of her shirt as she spoke, trying to control her emotions as best she could, as she waited for Faith's answer. The room--no, the house, was silent. So silent that her ears seemed to buzz; to echo her last words.

Faith looked at Buffy, noticing that the girl was holding her own shirt with a hard grip, "I came here," she said, once again, calm, "Because I felt like I had to. Because I knew that you'd be thinking that I'd been on some revenge trip, when really--it wasn't about you."

"God," she said, rolling her eyes, "That makes me feel so much better."

"That's not what I meant," Faith said, also rolling her eyes. She sat down on the bed, making sure not to sit to close, "I meant, I wasn't trying to do anything to hurt you. What I told you earlier, about me and June just bein' friends, that was the truth. And before you go and make some kind of smart ass joke--No, I don't just sleep with all my friends. Though, some people might tell a different story," she said, remembering that she had slept with Rachel, who had been a friend.

"So you did?" Buffy asked, "You did sleep with her?"

Faith sighed, frustrated that she didn't remember that Buffy had only seen them kissing, and that she might have been able to say it went no further than what she had seen, but then--lying usually didn't get her very far, "Yeah, I did. I didn't plan on any of it happening--it just sort of did, and I realize that that sounds really stupid, but I swear, I really wasn't looking for any action. June and I hung out, and it sort of just led to that. Buffy--"

Hearing that her full name was being used, she couldn't help but look the slayer in the eyes, "Yeah?"

"It was nothing, you know?" she paused, "I mean, it was something, and I did--I do feel something, but--it doesn't really compare, you know?" she put one of her hands on both of Buffy's, hoping that the slayer was understanding, and stared deep into her green eyes, "It doesn't compare--She's not you," Buffy just nodded, "And if--I won't be with her--if it's too much, okay?"

Buffy shook her head, as tears forced their way out of her, "No," she said, still shaking her head, "You shouldn't have to stop living, because of me. I don't even know what's going on with me--I'm not even sure why I'm crying, or why I'm so upset--not that--I don't care. It's just--I'm not sure. It was just so weird seeing you with her, and h-how tender you were, when--from what you've told me--things are a little different when you're about to get 'some'," she laughed, nervously, along with Faith, "I'm just an emotional wreck," she said, laughing harder.

Faith laughed, "That's true."

"Hey," she hit her, playfully, "We don't want you getting slapped, again. Watch it," she said, pointing her finger at her. She put her hand down, on top of Faith's, which was still covering one of her own, "We're fine. Seriously, fine. I think that you were right; friends is the best way to go, and lucky for us, Dawn is an expert, so she can help along the way. The only thing is," she looked down at their hands, "the first step, after the whole decision making, is to spend some time a part--more time, in our case. So--"

Faith pulled her hand away, "Right. That probably means no touching."

"It's one of the rules. Not mine, but still--" she looked out her window, something catching her eye, "Hey, the sun's coming up," she said, with a smile. Then, she looked back to Faith, "We can do the whole 'time apart' thing later. There's a great view of the sunrise from the roof, if you're up for it."

She smiled, "I'm in."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Kennedy's eyes opened, her head pounding, as she adjusted to the darkness of the room, which seemed to only be lit by a lamp. The blinds were closed tight, and the room was oddly quiet, "Where--?" she sat up, and then moved back against, pulling her knees up to her chest, as if it would protect her. June was sitting in a chair, a couple feet away from the head of the bed, smoking what smelt like-- "Is that pot?"

She blew out the smoke, "How long has it been happening?"

Remembering her initial thought, which was to protect herself, Kennedy put her guard back up, "What?" she asked, ready for the girl to come at her, if it were to turn into that sort of thing, again. She wasn't sure what had exactly happened, but what she did know was a little more important, at the moment--She was alone, in a room, with one hell of a powerful chick--which she now knew was a fact--who she wasn't sure was good, or evil--That's what mattered.

June took another hit, holding it in for a moment, and then blew out the smoke, "The break in realities, how long has it been happening?" she asked, this time, more aggressively. Without answering, Kennedy started to get up, and that's when she knew it wasn't good--She waved her hand over her joint, and it vanished--There was no time to be in a fog, "Let me ask you something," she sniffed, "Was there a lot of blood?"

Kennedy froze. What the girl had asked sent her into some sort of paralyzing shock. The only thing she could manage was to sit down, at first, and then, after a minute, she was able to speak, "What do you know-- and how, do you know it?"

"All I can tell you," she said, getting up, and going over to pick her jeans that were still on the floor, which she threw onto the bed, while she searched for her shirt, "is to be careful. That things will get a little confusing, and chaotic, but it'll be over soon."

"That's bullshit!" she got up, and walked over to the other girl, "I'm not in the mood for one of your cryptic, so called, warnings. You know what the fuck is going on with me," she stepped closer to her, getting in her face, "And I want you to fucking tell me."

She spotted her shirt, on the other side of the bed, and walked away from Kennedy to go get it, not feeling threatened at all. She knew now, what the girl could and couldn't do, so there was nothing to fear. Not yet, anyways. And letting a confrontation begin, once again, would only end badly--for the both of them.

"Don't you fucking ignore me!" Kennedy yelled. The people next door, yelled for her to shut up, "Go fuck yourself!" she yelled in response, "How the fuck is it that you don't fucking hear anything while I'm getting the shit beat out of me outside, and yet you fucking here me now? You mother fuckers," she went over and slammed her fist against the wall, "Did you fucking hear that?"

June frowned, "You--you should work on that temper, too. Certain things don't go well together."

Kennedy looked at her, "Tell me what the fuck is going on with me," she demanded.

First, June threw her shirt onto the bed, desperately wanting to get out of Faith's clothes, seeing everything that was going on, then she looked back to Kennedy, giving her a genuine answer, "I can't."

Before she could protest, the girl snapped her fingers, and Kennedy found herself standing outside of Willow's window, the sun now high in the sky, telling her that she had been out for a while, after her little fight with June, "Damn it."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn walked out of the house, in some jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket, heading towards the mailbox. It was a certain day of the month--day, not time--and she was expecting to find something in the mail that would require her taking a little stroll somewhere, so there couldn't be any short shorts, and a tank, 'Vampires at night--and creepy old men during the day,' she thought, as she looked around her. Going back inside to change, from her usual mailbox attire, also wasn't an option, because it would take too much time, and be a risk of getting caught, 'It's now, or never,' she said, zipping her jacket a little, as she reached the mailbox. She took out all of it, and started to read all of the labels, "Bill, bill, trash, bogus free money, bill…Maxam subscription?" she said, frowning, "Kennedy's trash. Ah," she said, finding what she had been looking for, "Mail from Boston--Faith Lehane. Daddy's being generous this month," she said, sarcastically.

From on the roof, Faith and Buffy watched as the girl checked the mail, "I hear this isn't her usual way of checking the mail," Buffy said, looking at her sister, "Usually, there's some almost nudity involved."

"Almost nudity?" Faith laughed, "Never heard that one before," she shrugged, "She is a little over dressed to just be checking the mail, because it's kind of early, you know? Plus, the mail doesn't really run on Sundays. So, technically, she's a little late on the checking."

"We had a busy day yesterday, I don't think mail was on any of our minds, well, not until 'that' girl came over saying that she's been taking peeks at my little sister."

"What?"

Buffy nodded, "That's right, some young wannabe badass, has been a little pervy with her eyes, lately--seeing that she just moved into the neighborhood. Then, she came up with this lame excuse to get a closer look--or at least, that's what I'm thinking--'oh, if I pretend to be stupid, she'll let me in, and help me with my homework,'" she said, mocking the girl's laidback voice, "I mean, who does she think she's fooling? No one sounds like that."

"Wow," she laughed, "I had always thought you were a little crazy, but this--this takes it to a whole new level. You're just out of your mind," she watched as Dawn seemed to put all of the letters back, except for one, and leaned forward a bit, "What's she doing? Was she expecting something in the mail?" she asked, something making her a bit curious.

"I don't know," Buffy said, as she continued to watch her sister. The younger Summers turned away from the mailbox, and Buffy heard her say hi, "Who the hell is she--Are you kidding me?" she followed her sisters gaze, and saw that Leah was walking over to her, once again in some jeans and a t-shirt, but also with a zip-up grey hoodie, "That little--"

"Is this some sort of weird teenage thing that I'm never gonna get--kinda like staying in high school?" Faith asked, "Meet me at the mailbox just doesn't have that ring to it."

"Don't make jokes," Buffy said, glaring down at the two girl's, "This is no time for joke making. She thinks she's all cool, and--and Dawn's just falling for it. Oh," she said, as the two girls started to walk down the street, "they're leaving. Where are they going? What--" she started to get up, "I'm going to jump down, and run over there, and she's gonna get it. Then, I'm gonna let Mom lay it on her, when she wakes up."

Faith grabbed the other slayer, pulling her back down, "Just leave it, you freak," she laughed, "So that's 'that' girl you were talking about. At least you know she has good taste," Buffy glared at her, as she settled back down, "I mean the other girl--not Dawn. I'm trying to calm you the fuck down."

"By pointing out the fact that someone thinks my sister is attractive?" Buffy asked.

"No, dumbass," she put her arm around the blondes shoulder, first making it seem like a friendly gesture, and then pulled her into a headlock. She started to mess up the girl's hair, as she yelled for her to stop, while also laughing, "I was saying she has good taste--" she let the girl go, laughing at how her hair looked, "because Dawn's a nice kid."

Buffy frantically tried to fix her hair, "What if someone comes outside?"

She laughed, "They'll probably have a heart attack, thinking there's a monster on the roof," Buffy pushed her, and she slid a little down the roof, only catching herself by pressing her feet down, "Watch it, I could fall."

"Then, they'd just think the so-called monster killed some skank. You do look like you just came from standing on your corner," Faith stood up quickly, and started to come at her as fast as she could, and so she stood up, and took off in the opposite direction, finding running up the angled roof to be easy, "Or that maybe you work at some cheap whore house. That sounds a little better."

"You are so fucking dead. When I get a hold of you--"

Hearing all the noise, Joyce poked her head out of her window, only to have Buffy swing into the room, "Hey Mom, thanks for the--the, uh, help," she said, closing the window, "How'd you sleep?"

The woman frowned, "What are you doing?"

Just then, they heard a scream, and Buffy remembered that Faith had been right on her heels. She opened the window, and looked up first, seeing nothing, and then looked down to see Faith, who was rolling over onto her back, "I am so--"

"I'm fine," the girl said, looking up at the blonde slayer, "But as soon as I can get up, again--you're dead," she saw the girl's Mom poke her head out, "Hey Joyce," she said, waving, "I'm fine, really," she said, seeing the woman's expression.

Buffy turned to her mother, "Dawn took off with that girl this morning," she said, quickly, then she turned back to Faith, "I'm coming down, just be still."

"Yeah, B," she said, closing her eyes, "Not like I can do anything else. Thank God for slayer healing."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

After just standing there for a while, Kennedy finally decided to knock on Willow's window. She had thought about just going home, but she really wasn't in the mood for Dawn's one hundred and one questions, as much as she loved the girl--she wasn't in the right set of mind.

A moment later, Willow opened the French doors, not caring about her case of bed-hair, "Kennedy, what are you--?" her eyes opened wide, "Oh, my god, you're lip," she reached out towards it, stopping herself from really touching it, once she thought that it might hurt, "it's all bleeding, and--Come inside," the girl walked in, and she closed the door, "What happened?" then she frowned, "What time is it?"

Kennedy sat down on the bed, "Is it okay if we don't really talk about it?" she asked, "At least, not until I've gotten some sleep. If that's okay."

Willow nodded, "Sure," she watched Kennedy take off her shoes, and climb into the bed, and then made her way over to her bedroom door, seeing what time it was, and locked it. Then she went over to the other side of the bed and laid down too, first keeping her distance from Kennedy, but then the girl--who was facing the other way--reached back for her, and she scooted over to her. She put one of her arms underneath Kennedy's head, after she had lifted it, and then wrapped the other one around the girl's waist, pulling her in close, "It's okay," she said, knowing that something was wrong.

There was a knock at the door, "Willow, it's time to get up, and get ready."

It was her Mom, just like she had predicted, "I'm really tired Mom. I finished a huge project last night, can you and Dad go, alone?" the woman asked if she needed anything, and she told her no, and then said okay, but it wasn't until she heard the two of them leave that she fully relaxed. Then, after she knew that Kennedy was asleep, she closed her eyes, and drifted to sleep herself.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"So," Leah said, walking with her hands in her pockets, "you do this a lot?"

She shrugged, "Once every couple of weeks, if she's lucky," she answered, "This is the place."

Leah frowned, "She lives in a motel," she asked, taking in the sight of the place, and the broken wooden fence rail, "A kind of run down one, at that?"

"It looks better on the inside," Dawn said, as they walked up the stairs. She slid the note underneath the door, and then stood up, "Alright, we can--" she stopped, seeing that the blinds--which she heard had been closed during June and Faith's make-out session--were open, and saw June sitting on the bed, putting on her shoes. She looked sad, beyond sad really, as she sat there smoking, her hair wait, and wetting her shirt. Dawn couldn't help but stare at her. It was strange that the girl she was looking at, who she had liked really, was now a possible enemy.

"Who's that?" Leah asked, in a whisper.

Dawn swallowed hard as June turned in their direction slowly. They held each other's gaze for a moment, and then she grabbed Leah's arm, "No one, let's go."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, well, that's it. I, uh, I'm not sure what to make of it really, 'cause some random stuff ended up being put in there--what to guess what--but I hope that you guys liked it. Well, I'm not going to be updating this--as I stated way above--this story for a while, so I hope this was enough to get you through, though it wasn't much. I just watched the episode 'Sanctuary' from Angel, season one, to see that whole Faith and Buffy interaction--interesting. Is anyone else wondering exactly how I'm going to proceed? Don't worry (puffs chest out, and puts hands on waist) I've got it all under control, for those of you that are worried. Okay, it's late, that's why I'm being all weird--I'll say bye now--I'm hungry, sleepy, and wanting to take a shower, and it's 3 am, so I'm pretty sure I should go. Thanks to all of you for reading, and please review. -ThomThom


	21. Introduction To: The Next Chapter

Hey kiddos, I know what you're thinking…what the hell, shortest fucking chapter ever…Well, I respond with…did you read the title? That's what I thought--No, I'm kidding. So, I'm running a little off schedule…as usual, and I'm not so sure about an early this week update (real/complete update), and I just thought of this introduction, for what I do have done. It's extremely short, I realize that, but…well, it'll make you a little curious…I hope, and even more anxious for my real/complete update. So, here it is. I hope you like it. Feel free to comment. Oh, yeah, title (or part of title) once again Radiohead. Also, thanks for all of the reviews that I've gotten…Does this site block people from reviewing twice--even when technically it's a different chapter--replacing an old one? Just wondering. -ThomThom

Introduction To: Everything In It's Right Place/ The Same, But Different

Faith walked down the familiar street, a cigarette lit between her fingers. She had wondered if it was a good idea; if maybe June wanted some space, or something like that, but decided that she'd go see her anyways, to make sure she was okay, because they hadn't talked at all since they had slept together. First because of the obvious reason of Faith leaving, after finding out that Buffy had seen the two of them, and secondly because June had disappeared by the time she had gotten back, to the motel, which made her feel like a complete ass.

Really, she hadn't thought about it when she had taken off towards the Summers residence. All she knew was that she had to see the other slayer; had to talk to her, but that was it. There had only been a moments hesitation; a moment that didn't really consist of any thought out process, or anything resembling actual intelligent thinking. It had all been a feeling. Like she had to do it; like she had no choice. The stupidity, and cruelty of her quick decision was only called to her attention when she returned to the motel, finding wood from the railing scattered at the base of the building, and spots of blood dried on the dirt below. She had left June. Simply left her there without any explanation, or any thought really, and she saw that that had been a mistake. Leaving Kennedy standing there, with June inside, had been a mistake. The talk she had had been with Buffy wasn't on the list of regret--no, there was some good that came out of that--it was the going that made her feel guilty; the steps she took to get there. Not even on the way back to the motel had she thought that something might of happened. She was still thinking about the time she had had at Buffy's, seeing Dawn get in trouble for sneaking out, and also letting her aching back calm, until it didn't hurt when she walked. There was irony in that that she only saw once she had returned to the motel.

She had ran up the stairs, hoping to find June still inside, but walked into an empty room. There was no trace of the girl that immediately caught her attention, which made her a little worried, seeing her sister was also no where to be seen, but, after panicking for a minute, she spotted a note on her dresser. It was from June, telling her that everything was fine; that her and Kennedy hadn't killed one another, and that both of them were back where they really belonged. That, of course, sounded a bit cryptic to her, so she picked up the phone and called the other slayer, seeing if Kennedy had returned, but she hadn't come back. Then, she heard Dawn mention Willow's place, in the background, and that made her relax a little. After handing up with Buffy, she found June's number, and called her house. Catherine had answered, said June was home, but she was sleeping, and then she added the little message June had told her mother to deliver, which was far from little, saying that Kennedy was indeed at the redhead's house.

Though relieved to know that both were okay, Faith couldn't help but worry about the fact that June had known she was going to call, and simply told her mother to give her a message, instead of giving it to her herself. She wondered what Kennedy had said to the girl; what either of them had said, but in the back of her mind, she knew that what was said really didn't matter. It didn't matter, because anything Kennedy would have said was probably already known to the blonde girl. Just knowing what she knew about June, and some of her power, she figured that June had known when she had taken off towards Buffy's, and probably knew exactly where she was going. What she was worried about was what June might have been thinking happened once she had actually gotten to Buffy's house. Was she cooking up some grand story of her cruelly making up with the other slayer, the day after they had slept together? Then, there was the fact that for the next couple of days, when Faith had called the girl's house, there was either no answer, or some obvious lie that kept her from being able to talk on the phone. So, as a last resort, she knew she had to just go to the girl, whether she wanted her to, or not.

When she had seen June walk out of her house, as she still made her way down the street, she was relieved by the fact that she didn't have to knock on the door; have to bear the look she was sure she'd receive from the girl's mother. The one she imagined the woman to have each and every time she had called their house. The relief, however, was cut short when she realized that June was putting a boxes in her mother's SUV.

She quickened her pace, catching June's attention as she did, "Hey," she called, "What are you doing?"

June, who was in some jeans, and a t-shirt, with her hair back, wiped some of the sweat from her forehead, sniffing as she did, "What are you doing here, Faith?" she pulled a hair tie from around her wrist, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "I'm pretty sure I didn't ask you to come over to help."

"I…uh--I just came to see how you're doing," she watched the girl turn from her, starting to push the boxes further in the back of the SUV, feeling a little nervous, and worrying about what she had stumbled upon, "You going somewhere?" she finally asked, to which June simply shrugged. Faith sighed, putting her hands in her pockets, "Look, I really hope you're not leaving, 'cause of--"

"Is that what you think?" she turned back to the slayer, taking a few steps, so she was standing directly in front of her, "Don't flatter yourself," the front door of her house opened, and saw her mother begin to walk out, "It's fine, Mom. You can go back inside," once the woman was gone, she turned her attention back to Faith, "I'm not leaving because of you--but, of course, you would assume I was."

"Why would I think differently?" she asked, angrily. She hadn't gone to the girl angry at all, in fact she had gone because she felt guilty. It was her fault after all. All of it, not just the part where she left the her alone, but them even seeing each the day before--letting them get close in the first place. If the girl was in pain, physically, emotionally--or both--she felt that she was to blame. That's why she had gone to her. But her reasoning was being pushed aside by the comments that June was making; the fact that she had gone back to her cocky, closed off, self, "I've been calling you like crazy, and each time I do there's some kind of crazy excuse that your mom comes up with, so I can't talk to you. I'm not stupid, I know you've been avoiding me. So, when I come here, and see you putting boxes in Catherine's car--What else am I supposed to think?"

She rolled her eyes, "I don't know, maybe that I have a life outside of you. That my world doesn't revolve around you. Then there's the little fact that I don't exactly get to make the decisions about us packing up--that's my mom's job, not mine."

"Right," Faith said, feeling a little dumb for assuming what she had, "It's just that…it's kind of a coincidence, don't you think? I mean, I come over here, and here you are packing it up. We haven't talked since--"

"Since you left me at alone at the motel?" she asked, cutting the slayer off, "Since the morning after we slept together, and you left me there, knowing that your sister was outside?" Faith looked away from her, making her even more angry, "That is what you were going to say, wasn't it?" the slayer nodded, "Oh, suddenly you don't have anything to say?" she stepped closer, "You left me there. Do you even know how wrong that was? Did you even think about how I'd feel--how cheap I'd feel, being left in a motel, after I had slept with someone? Not to mention that your sister so kindly waited for me to wake up," she added, sarcastically, "No, of course you didn't, because you can only think about her. No one else matters, do they Faith?"

"June--" she hesitated, still looking away from the girl, who she knew was staring at her--through her, "I-I'm…What happened that night was--I don't know what I'm doing, okay? This stuff isn't something I'm used to dealing with. I shouldn't have left, I know that now, but when I found out that--that she had seen us, I had to make sure--I know that wasn't really a good reason to leave you there, now, and I shouldn't have done it. June, I-I'm…"

"Don't bother," the blonde said, frustrated, "It's not in your nature--the whole apologizing thing," she went back to moving the boxes around, "For your information, I'm not leaving, so you don't have to play the guilt trip on yourself anymore. You see me. I'm fine. So why don't you just do what you always do after you see me--Run on over to Buffy's."

"I'm trying to fix this," she said, once again getting frustrated with the girl, "I came here to fix this, and all you can do is make smartass comments? You're not even giving me a chance here," June kept doing what she was doing, saying nothing, barely even acknowledging her presence, "Oh, come on," still nothing, "Fine, whatever," she turned to walk away, feeling herself turn to her usual ways; choosing to put her own wall back up. She turned back, "You know what, I came back, and you were gone. It's not my fault that you knew where I went; that you have a habit of tracking people down, with the blink of an eye."

June threw one of the boxes to the ground, and walked over to Faith, "Are you fucking kidding me? This is your fucking justification, for what you did? You're honestly going to turn this around and make it my fault, because you happened to go back to the motel--where you live anyways, and I wasn't there? Well, I'm sorry I didn't wait around for you to come back from seeing the girl you would have rather spent the night with. Don't stop now," she said, seeing the expression on Faith's face change, "Tell me more about this being my fault. It was my fault, all of it. I seduced you, and waited for your sister--who is like my most favorite person in the world, now--to show up, so you could run off, and so her and I could beat the shit out of each other. What I'm wondering is, what I would have done if I would have stuck around, waiting for you to get back. Tell me, do you know? I mean, since you seem to know the grand master plan," she paused, looking away for a moment, and then looked back at Faith, her expression changed from an angry one, to a sad one, "That's what I thought."

"This isn't what I came here to do," Faith finally said, "This is just how it works when it comes to me. Things get all fucked up--Usually because I'm the one that fucks it up, and then I make it worse. This is why I've been trying to steer clear of all things emotional."

Sighing, she turned to walk away from her, "Whatever, Faith. That bullshit story doesn't work on me," she stopped, still not turning back, "Tell your sister that I hope she's feeling better," she paused, "When I come back out here, I don't want you to still be here, got it?"

"Yeah, sure. If that's what you want," Faith mumbled.

"Damn it, Faith!" she turned around, "Don't you get it, yet?! This isn't what I want," she yelled, "But I don't get what I want," she grabbed one of Faith's hands, pulling it harshly, and put it over her own heart, "I don't track you--I feel you…What I want doesn't matter. Not here, or anywhere else," after a second of just standing there, she pushed Faith away from her, harder than she had meant to--which she only realized once Faith had fallen to the ground--and then walked towards her house, "Sorry, I pushed you," she said, almost in a whisper, knowing Faith would hear it.

Once the girl was inside, Faith stood up, slowly, sighing as she did, "Great job," she thought, as she dusted herself off, "First you lead her on, then you actually sleep with her and leave her to go see your--whatever Buffy is--all while leaving your sister there to stir things up more. Why not just top it off by telling her it was her fault, 'cause that's a genius plan. Always one for the brains," she spotted the box that June had thrown to the ground, seeing that it had landed on its side, and some things had flown out of it. After considering it for a moment, Faith walked over to the box, and started to pick up all of the stuff that had come out of it, "Books?" she asked, aloud, "Old, dusty--heavy, books," she put them back into the box, and then put the box--which was way heavier than the blonde girl had made them look--into the SUV, "At least I did one thing right," out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a book she had missed, which had actually slid under the vehicle, and reached down to get it. It was light, which explained why it had landed further than the other books, and was open when she picked it up. She studied it for a moment, noticing that there was something strange about it, and flipped through a few pages, "It's blank," she thought. All but the last page, which had a name on it, "James Raimundo Rico-Finmere," she laughed, "That's one hell of the name--and the best damn book I've ever read," she closed the book, walked over to the SUV, and put it down in front of her, while she reached further in to grab the box she had put in it. Once she had the box, in reaching range, she went to the book up to put it in, she found it open, "What the hell--?"

It flipped a few pages forward, like there had been a gust of wind, and then stopped, making her wonder if she was going crazy. That's when words began to appear on the page, "Okay, I am crazy," she mumbled. She looked over at Junes house, noticing that every curtain, and blind, was closed, and then turned back to the book, reading it as the words appeared.

"Hello, Faith. I'm glad that you have stumbled upon me, I was wondering if it was actually fated to happen--well, fated in my sense of fate…" there was a moment when the words stopped, but eventually they continued, much to her confusion, "You're really not much of a thinker, are you?"

She frowned, "Did you just insult me?"

Another moment of nothing, "Yes, but that's not important--You must take me, while she's not looking. Take me, and I'll tell you everything--I'll tell you why your sister's going mad--I'll tell you your destiny."

"Or, I could sell you for a couple bucks, and buy some more cigarettes. I'm running low," she laughed, "Why am I talking to a book. This is some kind of weird magic shit, that I'll never understand--and by never, I mean it's back in the box for you," she reached to grab it, but it slid away from her, "Oh, come on."

"You have to do this," the words continued, "She's not strong enough to do this alone. She's trying, but her emotions are getting in the way, like they always do. Her destiny is a hard one, only you can make it easier, at the moment."

She grabbed the book suddenly, closing it as hard as she could, "I can't steal from her, too. I'm pretty sure I've done enough for a life time, don't you think?" when she laid the book in the box, it opened again, it's next group of words instantly catching her attention.

"Take me, or your sister dies."

--TO BE CONTINUED--

So, what'd you think? Yeah, I'm aware that it was Kennedy free, but that can't be helped. Hope that it isn't leaving you guys to close to an edge of a cliff…no that's a lie, but still--Well, like I said, it's just a little intro. I promise to work extremely hard to get this updated soon, and after I'm done with the re-make, I already have the two following chapters thought out--with written plans as well--and ready to be made, so they'll be a few in a row updates over the next week, or so, if things go according to plan. Wish me luck! Thanks again, and feel free to tell me what you thought. -ThomThom


	22. Everything In It’s Right Place The Same

Okay…well, I'm tired, and it's been kinda hard to do an extremely long typing session, like I used to, to get this story updated, so forgive me for the lateness. I hope that you liked the intro to this chapter, sadly the book won't be mentioned anymore in the chapter…but there will be something mentioned, that I think you will find very interesting…no, I know you guys will find it very interesting. Multiple things really, so keep your eyes open, and peeled (through all of the parts)…I hope it's one hell of a chapter. Hope you guys like the chapter. Please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Fifteen: Everything In It's Right Place/ The Same, But Different Pt. 1

As usual, what Buffy planned to be an ordinary day, with ordinary people, had not gone according to plan. She had planned a picnic with Kennedy, Willow, Xander, and had tried to invite Faith--who she was aloud to see only on the weekends, in public places, according to Dawn--in a sort of secluded part of the park, where there was lots of trees, and other pretty things. Well, Willow and Xander had showed up at her place, like they were supposed to, to help her get all the food packed up, and ready to go, so things had seemed to be going to plan. That was until Giles called, saying he had word of a demon going around the forest, which is where they happened to be heading, anyways, and to be on the look out. They made it to the location with nothing throwing them off, except for Kennedy saying she'll be them there, but she had been acting a little weird anyways, and there was no sign of the demon, so she thought that for once she'd have a completely ordinary day, minus the patrolling she'd have to do later on.

A demon, tall, grayish, slight with the slime, and tentacles, that thankfully didn't move, around the face, attacked them suddenly, right in the middle of their conversation, reminding Buffy of her set in stone destiny. She had tried to fight it, kicked it, punched it, but somehow it ended up getting the upper hand, knocking Xander, who had tried to help, as it did. It grabbed the blonde slayer by the throat, holding her up against a tree, her feet dangling, as she tried to signal Willow to help her.

Willow, who was standing a bit off, was panicking at the site of her friend being strangled, "Oh, God! Demon! Demon! What kills a demon?!"

Buffy tried to tell the girl what to get out of her bag, which she had brought just incase a un-ordinary situation, like she was in, occurred, but it kept coming out wrong; sounding more like, "Nerf!" instead of knife.

Willow ran over to the bag, which was on top of the picnic table, "Oh nerf," she shook her head, "Not Nerf! Knife!" she realized, as she pulled it out of the bag. She ran closer to where the demon held her friend, and threw the knife to the slayer, who stabbed the demon in the chest, making die instantly, and drop her to the ground. After her, and Xander, helped Buffy up, they all stood next to the dead demon, staring down at it.

"Ok," the slayer said, dusting herself off, "That was too close for comfort. Not that slaying is ever comfy, but…you know what I mean. If you guys hadn't been there to help--"

"But we were," Willow cut in, "And we did, and we're all fine," she paused, still staring at the demon, with a frown on her face, "Isn't he gonna go poof?" she asked, gesturing towards it.

Buffy shrugged, "Uh, I guess these guys don't. We'll have to bury him or something," they all turned with a sigh, and went over to the picnic table, Buffy on top of the table at one in, and Xander sitting on top of it at the other, with Willow in between them, she was the only one actually sitting on the bench, and not the table. Buffy nodded, "Ooh, makes you appreciate vamps, though. No fuss, no muss."

"So how come Faith was a no-show?" Xander asked, "I thought mucusy demons were her favorite."

She pulled her legs up, so she was sitting Indian style, thinking of the other slayer, "I couldn't reach her…again. She hasn't been hanging out much," she laughed, "Of course, I'm not really supposed to be handing out with her a lot, but still…we don't even patrol together anymore."

"I detect worry," Xander said, noticing the slayer's change in tone.

"A little bit," she admitted, "Slaying's a rough gig. Too much alone time isn't healthy. Stuff gets pent up. I mean, I know we're supposed to be doing the whole space thing, but with our line of work, it isn't the best idea. But, the last time I saw her things were good, so hopefully everything's fine."

"We should try to do more socializing with her," Willow said, as she ate her sandwich, "Space thing aside, there's too much going on, to have her all distant, and unable to reach."

Buffy noticed her friend's serious tone, and knew that she wasn't saying something, "What about Kennedy? She's been acting weird ever since she had a little run in with June's fist--which could explain Faith's lack of contact with the outside word lately--'Cause, you know, Kennedy's never home anymore," the slayer said, trying not to invade, but also trying to get answers.

"Then, there's the whole part where she's been acting kind of weird, lately," Xander added, receiving a look from Buffy.

"Well," the slayer said, rolling her eyes, "I wasn't going to mention that part, but…he's right. So, what's up, Will? Should we be worried about her?"

Willow looked at the blonde, and then sighed, "No. I think that maybe the whole not having Faith around is just really taking a toll on her, and then the whole run in with June's fist probably didn't help. As for her never being home…well, I can't really explain that."

"She hasn't been with you?" the slayer asked, concerned.

She frowned, "Well, she has…sometimes, but not all the time. Like, she'll stop by, or we'll go grab some mochas, but then she's off. I really think she's just a little stressed, at the moment."

"I get that," Xander nodded. He saw that Willow wasn't exactly comfortable with the choice of conversation, especially seeing that Kennedy, who was supposed to have met them there, had yet to make an appearance. A change of subject was needed, "Well, burial detail aside…does this cap us off for the day?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows, "You got plans?" she asked, with a smile.

"I cannot stress enough how much I don't have plans," he sighed.

"No luck reaching Cordelia?" the slayer asked.

He shook his head, not so glad about the subject they were entering, it wasn't the one he had wanted to end up talking about, "I've left a few messages…sixty…seventy," he scooted forward, "But you know what really bugs me? Okay, so there's the love issue, right, but it's not like that's my fault. You can't help who you love," Willow nodded, agreeing with him, as he continued, "I knew that was positively the most uncontrollable thing that has ever happened."

"Darn tootin'" Willow nodded.

"And we all burst in trying to rescue them, without knocking, which was their idea--Oz's and Cordelia's--I mean, none of this would be going on if they wouldn't have done that, so really it's all their fault," he finished, a little unsure of himself.

"Your logic does not resemble our Earth logic," Buffy said, knowing what the boy had said had been completely off, and wrong. Of course Oz, and Cordelia, would have found out eventually. There was no way that Willow would have been able to keep up her, 'only friends' thing with Kennedy--she was already losing it--and then Xander with his constant taking up for Willow, even when she was wrong--well, maybe he would have been fine, but no one else would have been.

"My logic is much more advanced," he said, trying to seem wise.

Willow also noted what Xander had said, and saw that she was in no way going to be able to hide it forever. If it wouldn't have been them moment Oz had actually seen, it would have been something else, "At least tomorrow's Monday…another school day."

"Well, that's good. You know, focus on school," the slayer smiled, "That's the strong Willow way to heal.

Willow frowned, "Actually, I was more thinking Oz will be there, and I can beg for forgiveness."

"That works, too."

"I want to be strong, Willow. Bt then I think…I may never get to be close--in a non-relationship kind of way--to Oz again, and it's not a good thought, you know? I want to friends, but that doesn't exactly seemed to be a working plan…but when I think of not having him around at all, it's like all the air just goes out of the room."

"I know the feeling," Buffy nodded.

"Right," Xander remembered, "I mean, you went through it with Angel, and you're still standing. So tell us, wise one, how do you deal?"

Buffy smiled, slightly, "I have you guys."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Cordelia sat in her room, alone. Her curtains were drawn, and she had a food tray--the kind you ate off of when you were sick--in front of her with a bowl on top of it. Next to it, there was a stack of pictures, and a box of matches, along with a pair of scissors. She looked at it all, making sure she had everything in place, then pushed the play button on the answer machine, next to her bed, and waited for the sound of Xander's voice.

"Hey, it's Xander, if you get this call me…beep," she picked up the scissors, and a picture of her and Xander, cutting it down the middle, "Hi. Xander. I, uh--Well, I'm in if you feel like calling. Bye…beep," she grabbed another picture, cutting him out of it again, along with the image of Willow, at the other end, "Hi, Cordelia. Umm, if you get the chance, if we can talk, I'm here…beep," she put down the scissors, and then picked up the matches, taking one out, and striking it hard, "It's me. I'm here. Again. Call me," she dropped the match into the bowl, and watched the picture catch fire, a kind of inside of her, as well.

Kennedy frowned as she walked into the room, she had been knocking, but had gotten no response, and walked in anyways, after hearing the sound of Xander's voice. Cordelia looked at her for a moment, a single moment, revealing her tired face, bags under her eyes, and then turned back to the fire, not saying a word. It was the second time Kennedy had visited the girl, and she was even more concerned than she had been the first time.

"Uh, Cordy," she said, walking around the bed, to stand further away, "I think that that might be a little bit of a fire hazard. Maybe you should, I don't know, snuff it out," the girl didn't say anything, so she went around to the other side of the bed, leaning over to look inside the bowl, seeing a picture of Xander, and Willow, "Oh, that's--"

"What do you want, Kennedy?" she asked, coldly, not looking away from the fire, "Who let you in here, again."

"I have my ways," Kennedy answered, "And I don't want anything. I just came to see if you were okay; if you were up for school tomorrow, 'cause I heard you were coming back," she looked at the flame, and the pictures burning within it, "Maybe you should take some more time off," Cordelia looked up a her, a shadow of the flame covering her face, making her look a little possessed. Kennedy laughed nervously, "Or, you know, not. Look, I'm just thinking, from--well, with fire, and the picture--it doesn't look like it's a good idea to go back, just yet. It might make things harder for you--seeing all of them, 'cause they're still the gang, they're fine--everyone's fine--but you…you're not."

She looked back down, "Get out, Kennedy."

Kennedy walked around back to the door, "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Willow stood across the hall from the lockers, trying to hide herself around the corner, as she waited for him to go to his locker. She had been standing there for a while, just waiting and waiting, but had seen no sign of the boy at all. It was as if he had been wiped off the planet. The planet known as Sunnydale High, anyways.

Buffy spotted her friend, and walked over to her, "How's it going?" she asked, trying to keep herself from laughing at Willow's lack of being sneaky.

She turned to Buffy, taking her eyes off of the lockers, "Oz hasn't been to his locker," she turned and looked, still no sign of him, and then turned back to Buffy, "There may be books in there that he needs but still, he doesn't come," she said, looking again.

"Has Xander seen Cordelia?" she asked, wondering if their other friend was having any luck.

"I don't think so," she looked at the lockers, quickly, and then turned back to the slayer, not wanting to miss him, "But she is coming in today. Amy saw her last night at the mall."

"How was she?"

"I don't know. Amy said she looked pretty…scary," she turned to look again, this time seeing Kennedy, instead of a row of lockers, almost making her jump, "Kennedy."

She laughed, at the girl's jumpiness, "Willow. Who were you saying was scary?" she asked, walking to stand beside her, so Willow wasn't standing between her and Buffy, "You guys weren't talking about me, were you?"

Buffy laughed, thinking, 'There's that weirdness, again,' the same weirdness that she had noticed the few times Kennedy actually came home at night, "Uh, no, we were talking about Cordelia, actually. Willow was just telling me that Amy saw her at the mall, and said she looked pretty scary…that's the part you overheard."

"Oh," she nodded, putting her arm around Willow, "I actually saw Cordelia yesterday…there was definitely a scare factor. I'm not sure she's ready to come back, with what I saw," she said, deciding not to tell them, just incase Cordelia didn't want them to know, and to help the girl's coming back to school go as smoothly as possible, "But, you know, it's her choice. It'll be rough on her. Letting all the stress build."

"Did you stop by her house, again?" Willow asked, looking over her shoulder, to make sure Oz wasn't at his locker, with her and Kennedy being all close.

Kennedy noticed, and removed her arm, "Yeah. I was out, and so I just stopped by to make sure she was doing okay. She didn't want me there, but I didn't really care. Being alone isn't such a good idea for her, and since she won't admit that, I'll just have to continue to bug her."

"Out of the sweetness of your heart," Buffy said, with a smile, "Hey, uh, my mom was wanting to know if you were going to be at dinner tonight. Do you think you'll be home?"

She thought about it for a minute, "Yeah, I'll be there. Sorry, to run," she said, after checking the time, as she backed away from them, "but I have somewhere to be. I'll see you guys later. You should come to dinner Willow, I'm sure Ms. Summers won't mind."

"I might be crazy, but I'm thinking she noticed the fact that I didn't want Oz to see us together," Willow said, feeling guilty.

Buffy nodded, "I'm thinking you're right."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Cordelia out of her red convertible, wearing a maroon leather skirt suit, with black high heels, and maroon purse. She tried to make herself look confident. Like her usual self--before she had started dating Xander. What she wanted was to go back to those times; to the times where she wasn't hanging around with people she used to consider to be a bunch of freaks; to the world where she was queen. She walked past the corridor, on one of the outdoor walk ways, leading into the school, keeping her head high. That is, until she spotted Harmony, along with her groupies, walking towards her. The sight of them instantly took her down a notch, she hesitated, not knowing whether to approach them, if they were going to approach her, or if they were going to just walk around her.

"Cordelia," Harmony called, in a chipper voice, "You look amazing."

She smiled hearing that, and met them halfway, feeling part of her old self come back to life. They did their wannabe-French kisses on each other's cheek, and then Harmony continued to talk, as usual.

"Oh, you have to meet Anya," she gesture to one of the girl's from behind her, who steeped forward, "She just moved here…and her dad just bought--What was it?" she thought for a moment, drawing a blank, "Oh, a utility. Or something."

Anya took another step, standing more beside Harmony, than behind her. She had brown hair, pulled back into a pony tail, a green sweater around her shoulders, which accented the necklace she wore around her neck, that had a green stone, sort of shaped like a cross, but curved ends instead of squared, at its center. She looked Cordelia over, noticing her bag, "Nice bag, Prada?"

She nodded, "Good call. Most people around here can't tell Prada from Payless."

Harmony stepped back up in front of Anya, "God, Cordy. When I heard about--Well I mean I couldn't believe it. But I was smart you know, the injury thing? You take a week off--let everybody forget about the temporary insanity that was Xander Harris."

"Xander who?" she said jokingly, laughing nervously. It wasn't surprising that Harmony had assumed that she had faked gotten hurt as an excuse to miss school, that's just the way the girl thought, and she wasn't going to argue against it. If it took letting such a dumb story to get back to her old status, then she was willing to let it get around.

"Oh," Harmony laughed, realizing what Cordelia had meant.

The groupies laughed as well, "You know what you have to do," one of them said, stepping out a bit, "Start dating. Get back on the horse."

"Oh, absolutely. I am ready to ride," she said, enthusiastically.

"Then I have just the stallion. He's so you," Harmony said, walking over towards some stairs, her groupies, along with Cordelia following behind her. On the steps sat a short boy, wearing a sweater obviously picked out by his mother, and some kaki pants, with a big giant cup in his hands--it was Jonathan, "I'm pretty sure he won't cheat on you. At least not for a while. Plus, he's got a killer moped," she turned to leave, leaving Cordelia there shocked by what she had done, only to almost slam into Kennedy, "Freak. Get out of the way."

Kennedy, who had overheard a lot of what was said, laughed, "See, I think that was your attempt at a joke," she said, stepping closer, and making Harmony step back, "I think that you're thinking doing stuff like that--saying stuff like that--is funny. But I'm thinking--it's not."

"Oh, look," Harmony said, nervously, "Looks like Cordy's got a dyke in shining armor."

Kennedy laughed for a moment, and then took another step, "Guess that means I have to take you down. Don't worry," she said, looking at the rest of them, "they'll all be right behind you."

"Kennedy," Cordelia said, just as the girl took another step forward, "Cut it out," she watched as Kennedy stepped to the side, and Harmony and her friends walked off, sighing as they did. Then, she turned to leave, too, not wanting to be humiliated, again.

"I told you everyone was still the same," she said, catching up to the other girl, so she could walk beside her, "I told you."

"I guess you were talking about yourself, too," Cordelia said, angrily, turning to face her, "You still think it's up to you to protect all the helpless girls in the school. Well, let me tell you something…I'm not one of them--so back off."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Oz. Wow," Willow said, finally catching him at his locker. She walked over to him nervously, "Look at us, running into each other…as two people who go to the same school are so likely to do now and then."

Not wanting to see the redhead, let alone talk to her, he closed his locker, said hey, and then tried to walk away from her, but she didn't let him.

"Oz, wait. Please?" she asked, desperately, needing to talk to him. For some reason, she couldn't let go of the fact that he wasn't giving her the chance to explain, though what she would say probably wouldn't be good enough. She felt like she needed to justify her actions, to explain that what he saw hadn't been planned, and though she definitely did love Kennedy, she wouldn't have done something like that to him. Not after she had told him it was over between the two of them. There was no guarantee that she wouldn't have ended up breaking up with him to be with Kennedy, but she wouldn't have wanted him to walk in on something like that, "What I did," she continued, "When I think that I hurt you--"

"Yeah. You said all this stuff already," he said, cutting her off. He wasn't up for listening to her, wasn't up for being around her, and wanted get out of there as quick as possible, but she wasn't letting it happen. He couldn't be mean to her, really, despite what she had done. He couldn't tell her to get lost, or anything like that, and that was only making him more upset.

"Right, but…I want to fix things, so we could be--I mean, if you let me I want to try."

He looked down, "Just…You can leave me alone. I need to figure things out."

"But maybe if we talk about it, we could--"

"Look," he sighed, "I'm sorry this is hard for you. But I told you what I needed. So I can't help feeling like the reason you want to talk is so you can feel better about yourself. That's not my problem, it's Kennedy's," with that he walked away, unwilling to listen to another word, leaving her alone in the hall.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Cordelia walked down the stairs, into the hallway, spotting Xander as she did. She didn't want to see him, or talk to him, so she looked around, hoping to find some kind of escape, and found something better, "Hey, John Lee," she said, stopping a tall, blonde haired guy, "Do I have something in my teeth?" she asked, position herself to where, from Xander's view, it looked like she was getting a little friendly with the Jock. Once she saw that Xander was walking away, with a mixture of anger and sadness on his face, she stepped back, "So…what's new? God, it's been, like, a gazillion years," she smiled.

He looked around, "Look, the guys are kinda down on me lately. Coach just cut me back to second string. If anyone saw me hanging with Xander Harris's castoff on top of that…death, you know, but…maybe if you want to go somewhere private…"

Her smile, which had already been fading, faded completely, as she realized what he was saying, "What?"

"Think about it," he said, backing away.

Cordelia started to walk slowly, thinking about what the teenage boy had just said to her--had just hinted at. God only knew what rumors had been going around the school, for him to say something like that. She had knew there'd be some, but she hadn't expected the day she had had to be as bad as it was.

Being so lost in thought, Cordelia didn't notice Anya as she rounded the corner, and almost bumped into her, "Hey," the girl said, stopping herself from running into the taller girl.

Cordelia glared at her, "Go ahead, dazzle me with you oh-so-brilliant insults. Just join the club."

"Hardly," she said, calmly, "Actually, I've benn looking for you," seeing the girl's shocked expression, she went on, "Ever since we met this morning I was like…thank God there's one other person in this town who actually reads W."

She frowned, "But Harmony--"

"Oh, she follows me around," she said, with a shrug, and a slight laugh. She looked around them, making sure there was no sign of Harmony, or any of the other girls, "If that girl had an original though, her head would explode," she added, while messing her necklace.

Noticing the girl's moving hands, Cordelia looked at the gold necklace, with the green stone within it, "Is that Gucci?"

"Um…no," she looked down at it, "It's an actual old thing, sort of a, um…good-luck charm my dad gave me."

"Too bad I didn't have one of those pre-Xander," Cordelia said, loosened up by the girl's presence, and lack of being a bitch.

They started to walk, "Can I just say…men."

She lifted her hand, "Second it," she laughed.

"Apart from being without class…" Anya began, despite the fact that she didn't even know him, "the guy's obviously blind. Deserves whatever he gets."

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "I'm not even thinking about him. I am past it. I am living my life."

"Still," she pushed, "I mean…Don't you kinda wish--"

"I don't wish. I act," she said, confidently, "Starting now, Xander Harris is gonna get a bellyful of just how over him I am."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Days later, Xander, Buffy, and Willow sat at a couch at The Bronze, him looking at the table a couple feet away, that Cordelia, who was wearing a bright red dress, and a bunch of guys--along with a girl he didn't recognize--stood laughing. She looked so happy, especially compared to the three of them. They had all been pretty quiet, each of them thinking of whatever issue they were having, along with the week they had had at school. He hated the fact that she seemed to already have her life back together--popular friends, and college guys, included. There was no way he was going to sit there moping, while she was having a good time.

He turned to Buffy and Willow, forcing himself to laugh, as if one of them had just told a joke. When they gave him a weird look, he laughed harder, hoping that they'd get what he was doing, but they hadn't got it, "Excuse me. I need to be both giving and receiving of mirth. Is it too much to as for a little backup?"

Buffy pat her friends knee, "I'm here for you, Xand. I'm support-o-gal. I just…" she looked over at Cordelia, "I feel a little weird about this us-against-Cordelia thing. She's had a rough time."

"It's true," Willow chimed, "Cordelia belongs to the justified camp. She should be angry, and her and Oz should want to make us pay. And pay and pay and pay--In fact, there's just not enough pay for what--"

"Look, you want to do guilt-a-palooza, fine, but I'm done with that. Starting this moment I'm gonna grab a hold of that crazy little thing called life and let it do its magical heelie thing. What's done is done. Let's be int eh moment. Behold the beauty that is now. Who's with me?"

Buffy nodded, "He's actually making sense. We're young and fee in America. How dare we be spun by love or the lack of same?"

"Absolutely," Willow said, also nodding, "I-It's self-indulgent. I-I'm in. I'm on the joy train," she said, smiling and nodding--they were all smiling and nodding for a while, then the joy train thing ended, and she sighed, "Where's Kennedy?"

"Yeah, that didn't work," Buffy said, frowning, "Who wants chocolate," both of her friends raised her hand, and she got to her feet, "I'm up," she said, as she headed off to get some.

Xander turned back to Cordelia, who was still laughing, "Look at her," he said, scooting closer to Willow, so she could hear him better, "Tears of a clown, baby," he paused, "Or is it…grins of a sad person?" he put his hand on Willow's knee, "Or maybe it's--"

"Xander, your hand," she said, getting his attention.

"Oops. Sorry," he shrugged, "But why oops? I mean we always touch digits. It's a friend thing. Comfort, like chocolate."

"Maybe it used to be, but since Cordelia's here, and she knows about--how you feel--It's different," Xander made a face, and moved away from her, "I'm sorry. But I'm just not wanting any other kind of drama in my life right now. I'm already dealing with the whole Oz thing, and Kennedy's all--I just can't take on anymore."

Buffy, who was standing in a long line, turned to see that Cordelia was telling the new girl buy. She watched the scene play out, noticing that Cordelia seemed to be in pain as she walked out, and so she grabbed her jacket to follow after her, "Hey, Cordelia," she called, as she ran out the door, "wait a second," she stopped as Cordelia turned around, leaving a lot of space between them.

"Did Xander send you to beg for him? Because if he did--"

"No, I'm a free agent," she said, with her hands up, "I promise," she put them down, "I just wanted to see how you are."

"Never been better," she said, turning to leave.

Buffy started to follow, "Cordelia, I know what it's like to be hurt by someone. Hurt so much that you don't think you're gonna make it," the girl stopped, and turned back around, so she went on, "But, I told my friends how I felt, and you know what? I got better."

Before she could say anything, a vampire jumped in between them, making Cordelia gasp. She watched as the blonde took a stake out of her jacket, and started to fight the vampire, not making any attempt to help, but also not running away. It wasn't until she heard Buffy yell, 'Cordelia, look…out,' that she wished she would have left. By the time the words had hit her, the vampire had flown into her, knocking her into a pile of trash, and trash bags.

Buffy staked him quickly, and then threw the stake aside, after seeing that Harmony and her groupies were walking towards them, trying to act like nothing had happened. Since the girl were looking at Cordelia--who had stand up, with trash in her hair, and on her dress--and laughing, she figured she had pulled it off.

"Wow," Kennedy said, as she walked up behind the passing girls, noticing something she thought was funny, "Harmony, you realize holding hands with a girl," she said, pointing towards Harmony and her friend, "looks a little suspicious. Maybe, um, you've decided to try it out."

Harmony pulled her hand away, glaring at Kennedy, "You're disgusting."

Kennedy shrugged, as the girl stormed off, her groupies following, "I was just saying," she walked over next to Buffy, who had a strange expression on her face, "What's up?" she looked at Cordelia, "What happened to you?"

She pulled a piece of trash out of her hair, and walked up to the two of them, "You know what I've been asking myself a lot this week? Why me? Why do I get impaled? Why do I get bitten by snakes? Why do I fall for incredible losers? And you know, I think I finally figured it out…what my problem is. It's…"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Cordelia away from Anya, walked down the outside stairs, towards the corridor--her bright blue silk dress shining in the sunlight, "Buffy Summers," she said, looking over at the slayer, and her friends, as her and Anya stopped. She then turned back to Anya, "That's when all my troubles started ," she touched her wound, "When she moved here."

"Are you okay?" Anya asked, seeing the girl's pained expression.

"Oh, I just pulled some stitches last night. Know why?" she looked back over to the group of friends, "Surprise. It was Buffy's fault."

Harmony spotted Cordelia, "Oh. Hey, it's garbage girl. Loved the look last night, Cor," she said, passing between her and Anya, "Dumpster chic for the dumped."

Anya watched as the girl's passed, and then took off her necklace, "Here," she said, reaching to put it around Cordelia's neck, "I think you need this more than I do right now."

Cordelia held her hair out of the way, while Anya put it on, and then let it go when she was finished, glad that someone was being considerate, "Yeah, I could use some luck. And a stick with pointy sharp bits. If that Buffy wasn't--I swear--"

"She's a pain," Anya said, looking over at Buffy and her friends, "But Xander, he's an utter loser," she looked back at Cordelia, "Don't you wish--"

"I never would have looked twice at Xander if Buffy hadn't made him marginally cooler by hanging with him," she said, defending herself.

Anya frowned, "Really?"

"Please, she's full of crap," Kennedy said, as she approached the two of them, "She would have ended up dating anyways. Things just happen, Cordelia. You end up liking someone you never thought you would. It's not like he's that bad, anyways."

They all turned to look at him, and Cordelia frowned, "No, that's not true. The truth is that if Buffy hadn't come around, he would have stayed in his little invisible realm, and no one would have know who he even was," she turned to Kennedy, "I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale."

Anya, who had still been looking away, turned to both of them--what had been a normal looking, teenage girl, was now an old looking, vein covered, oddly colored--demom, making them both gasp, as she said one word, "Done…"

-- TO BE CONTINED --

Okay, I know that that's not the whole episode, and I just totally cut you guys off when it was getting interesting, but I haven't finished yet, and I figured that if I put the two alternate realities in a separate chapter--separate from the actual reality they all live in--things will be even less confusing. So, I'm putting this up now, and I promise…promise promise promise…that the rest of my re-make will be up tomorrow night, or Monday night. I really mean it, so be looking for it. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typos…I'm tired…and hungry.


	23. Everything In The Same pt 2

-1Howdy! I'm finally able to give you guys the goods…the stuff you've been waiting for…literally. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the, basically, two intros I gave you, and that you really enjoy this one. This was a weird chapter, full of weird cryptic things, but I'm thinking that you guys will definitely get the main parts of it all…and will question me completely--because then, you'll wonder who does what, when, where, and why. Lets just say that this something changes a lot of the original plot. Honestly, I hope I did an amazing--not just good--job putting it all together, and that you guys find it all very intriguing. To Missingviolet--there is a little bit of Faith in this one. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you thought. -ThomThom

P.S. Okay, well, you know how I said none of the characters will be used in both realities…scratch that…two characters will be…but I'm pretty sure you'll notice the difference immediately. I promise. Tried to avoid it, but what they say…or do…is very important…hinthint (the something's that will be mentioned).

Chapter Fifteen: Everything In It's Right Place/ The Same, But Different Pt. 2

There was a shift, and she had felt it. Like her insides were pulled apart, and then thrown back together. It was different from the other times she had opened her eyes seeing that she was somewhere else; somewhere she didn't recognize. She didn't know how it was different, only that it was, and not in a good way. One difference she noted right away was the fact that she opened her eyes to see herself standing in the same place--just with less people around her. The second difference--Cordelia was standing next to her.

"Anya?" Cordelia called, as she too looked around. Instead of seeing a large crowd of people--Buffy and the others included--she saw two or three people running inside the school, and papers everywhere, blowing in the breeze--and Kennedy beside her. She touched her stomach, not feeling any pain, and then smiled, "I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale."

Kennedy frowned, looked at the girl curiously, and then it clicked, "Oh, God."

"She was like…a good fairy. A scary, veiny…good fairy," she smiled harder, turning to go inside the school, excited to see what else had changed in Sunnydale, "Finally. I get what I want."

"Yeah," she said, following, "And that's just great, Cordy. Just make a stupid wish and send us to this place, 'cause there couldn't be any repercussions. Oh, no, nothing could possibly go wrong. She didn't look like any fairy to me. She looked like a--," someone passed them, wearing only dark shades of clothing, "No, I know here, and dark colors aren't her thing. Something's not--"

"Where have you been?!" Harmony called, turning to see Cordelia. Her, and her groupies, all walked over to her, ignoring the girl with her, "Ted Chervin just totally went for third with Ginger in front of everybody."

"Love the dress. It's so daring," one of the groupies said, with a smile.

"Uh, uh," Kennedy said, noticing what Harmony was wearing--a black dress--and then what the other girls were wearing, "This isn't right, something's different, Cordelia--"

Before Kennedy could finish, a boy approached them, "Cordelia."

She looked at him--it was John Lee--the same guy that had completely treated her like crap before, "Yeah," she said, wanting to say more to him, but stopping herself, because she didn't know what all was different yet.

He touched her arm, pulling her aside, and began to talk to her, leaving Kennedy with Harmony and her followers. The blonde looked Kennedy over, "Are you new, here?" she asked, giving her the one over.

"Uh, sure," Kennedy said, as she waited for Cordelia to stop talking to John Lee. She wasn't in the mood for any of Harmony's--well, anything. This wasn't her idea of a grand place, especially is she wasn't supposed to be in it, which obviously she wasn't, by the question Harmony had just asked. The thing she knew for sure was that, even if Harmony didn't like someone, she knew who they were. She knew who everyone was, and was also likely to have information on them, that they could swear never left their own mind.

"Isn't he so hot?" Harmony asked, glancing over at John Lee, "He's like totally had a crush on Cordy since Freshman year."

"That's, uh, great," she said, annoyed by the girl's talking. Then, she thought of something, "Actually, he's not really my type. Mines about yay high," she lifted her arm to Willow's height, "red hair, kinda nerdy, named--"

"I'll get back to you," Cordelia said, confidently. She was back at her old status; the queen of the school, and she had just been asked out by the king.

"Really?" John Lee asked, excitedly.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Great," he started to back away, "Great."

"Cordelia, you reign," Harmony squealed, as the girl walked back over to them.

"I do?" she asked, a little taken back at first. Then, she smiled, "I mean, I do," she started to walk with her old group of friends, "So what's with the winter brunch thing, he mentioned?"

Kennedy sighed, running her fingers through her hair, "This isn't gonna be easy," she said, following behind them. The classroom they went into had hardly any students in it, making her question where they were, even more, and each of them were wearing darker clothes. Even the teacher, who she had never seen before, had darker clothes on, and he sped through his lesson like the school was set to catch on fire at any time. There was definitely something off, and unlike Cordelia, she was anxious to figure out what was going on, and fix it, so things would go back to normal. One thing she didn't understand was why she hadn't seen Willow, or Xander. They had been in Sunnydale before Buffy had arrived, so they should have been there. But, the teacher hadn't even called row or anything, so she couldn't no if they had just been absent, or maybe--since things were obviously a little different--the Willow and Xander skipped school where they were, "No, that's just too much unlike her," she thought, as the teacher kept on with his lesson.

The bell rang, and the teacher began to gather his things, "All right. Now, don't forget tomorrow we have our, uh, monthly memorial…so, uh, there's no class."

"Memorial?" Kennedy said, under her breath. She raised her hand to ask what he had meant by memorial, but he was out of the door before she knew it, leaving her question unanswered, as the other students also rushed out of the classroom, except for Harmony, who was still getting her stuff together, her groupies, Cordelia, and herself.

"What's the rush?" Cordelia asked.

"Maybe you should have asked that a little earlier," Kennedy said, as she walked past Cordelia, to the front of the class, to look at the things on the teacher's desk.

"Oh, you know," Harmony said, nonchalantly, as she continued to put stuff back in her purse, "my mom hates it when I'm late."

Cordelia laughed, "Since when? Aren't we going out tonight?" she asked, as she stood up.

"Curfew starts in an hour," Harmony said, as she zipped her purse, and then started to exit the class--her groupies waiting by the door.

"Curfew? Come on, I'm in a really good mood," Cordelia said, as she tried to keep up with them, "let's go to The Bronze."

Harmony, and her friends, froze. She turned to Cordelia, with a baffled expression, "Is that a joke?"

The question made Kennedy lift her head from what she had been looking at, looking at the group of girls on the other side of the desk. It wasn't the question itself, but the way that Harmony had asked it; the way all of the girls had froze when they had heard the name of the club, "Finally," she thought, "we're getting somewhere."

"Oh! The Bronze isn't cool in this reality," she laughed, nervously, "I've got to make these little adjustments."

Harmony walked over to Cordelia, staring up at her, "Cordy…what's with you? I mean, you wear this come-bite-me outfit…" she turned, seeing that her groupies were leaving, and then turned back to Cordelia, "you make jokes about The Bronze…and you're acting a little schizo."

Kennedy stifled a laugh, and Cordelia shot her a look, rolling her eyes. Then, she turned back to Harmony, "You're right. I just--Well, I bumped my head yesterday--"

"What's your excuse for every other day?" Kennedy interjected. Cordelia shot her a look, and she put her hands up, "Fine, I will continue to be invisible."

"Anyways, I hit my head yesterday and I keep forgetting stuff. Not that I care," she said, leading to what she had really wanted to know, from the moment she had found herself in a different reality, "but Xander Harris, he's miserable, right? And that Willow freak he hangs out with…"

"Oh, my, God, Cordelia," Kennedy said, walking over to her, "I am standing right her. Talking about my girlfriend like that--isn't such a good idea."

Harmony frowned, "Girlfriend?"

"She's not even a blip on the radar screen, right?" Cordelia continued.

"Well…yeah," the blonde said, looking between the two girls, "They're dead," she rolled her eyes, and walked out of the room.

Kennedy felt like her heart had just been ripped out; like she was dying on the inside. She looked at Cordelia, "What have you done?" she asked, angrily. She saw Cordelia's mouth open, heard the sound of her beginning words, but then she had that feeling again…like her insides were being pulled apart--this time, it felt familiar.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

She found herself sitting on the floor, as the world around her came to a stop, and breathing heavily. There was no question, this time, where she was--or at least, not a question of if she was safe or not--because she had been there before. No, not where she was sitting at the moment, but the reality--it was one she recognized, and had grown not to question--not to want to question. Or, at least, she didn't usually, but at the moment, she found herself asking questions. She looked around her, seeing a circle of hung clothes around her, "Is this a clothes rack?" she wondered.

"Hey, no. I don't wanna hear any shit about this. Don't go too far. I don't want have to track your asses down before I head out of here…Make that face again, and I swear to God--"

Kennedy frowned, hearing that familiar voice, "Maybe I'm not where I thought I was," she thought, as she got on her hands and knees. She moved some of the clothes aside, and poked her head out, "A clothing store. I'm at a clothing store? What the hell?" she crawled out of the circular rack, and then stood slowly, spotting who she thought she had heard. She moved to hide behind a row of clothes, holding her breath as she did, and then kneeled down, poking her head around it, to continue to watch them.

"I fucking hate going shopping with them. They're such pains in the ass, you know?" she asked, looking down.

Because of the rack being in the way, Kennedy couldn't see who she was talking to, but what she could see told her something. The woman--which is what she had seemed to become--was older, seeming to be in her mid to late twenties. There was something different about her that she couldn't quite place. The way she carried herself was different--though the words she spoke were definitely nothing new--it was odd. She definitely hadn't expected to see her at all.

"Faith!" another voice called.

Kennedy watched as someone approached her sister, shocked by who she saw, "Dawn?"

"What?" Faith asked, turning to the girl annoyed, "Why are you here? Didn't B tell you to stay behind, or something?"

"No," Dawn folded her arms, "She told me to follow you, and now I see why," she looked down, "What the hell is that?"

Still not seeing what both of the woman--Dawn being older, too--were looking at, Kennedy turned, and moved to another rack, ducking so she wouldn't been seen. That's when she saw something, she hadn't expected to see at all, "It can't be--It can't be hers," she said, seeing a baby, in a carrier strapped onto Faith's chest.

"You're not supposed to use that," Dawn gestured, "It's bad for her hips, remember."

Faith rolled her eyes, "Look, it's only for two hours, alright? I tried that sling thing, and I had to keep my arm under it the whole time, 'cause it felt like she was gonna to fall out of it, every other step I took. At least this way, I know she's not gonna have her brain splattered on the ground."

"No, she just won't be able to walk normally for the rest of her life. Why didn't you just ask one of the other girls to hold her why you got what you needed, then?" Dawn asked.

Kennedy's eyes bulged, "Other girls?"

"Because. We're all here getting emergency clothes; to stock up, or whatever. Everyone's a little too busy to hold her, and I don't feel like hearing them gripe about it, if I made them do it," she turned back to the clothes rack, "Who the hell are you, anyways? I'm pretty sure that I'm the mom, here. Who the hell are you, again?"

Dawn gasped, "Hello," she said, putting her hand over her heart, "I'm Auntie Dawn, remember? Who the hell are you? You're not the only one who's responsible for her be…" seeing someone out of the corner of her eye, she began to trail off, and then stopped completely, "Kennedy?"

Faith turned her head, instantly, with a shocked expression, "How--? It's not--"

Kennedy had stepped out of her hiding spot, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. She couldn't believe it; Faith having a kid. It just didn't seem possible--though, she knew it was. She walked over to them, slowly, not saying a word. She had to see it; had to touch it; had to know it was real.

"Remember," Dawn said, keeping her eyes on Kennedy, "She said this might start to happen."

"I didn't think she meant this soon," Faith said, also keeping her eyes on her sister, "This isn't right," she continued, "It isn't right. She's--She's--"

"She's yours?" Kennedy finally managed, as she stopped in front of them. She looked at the baby, who was asleep, in amazement, and shock. There she was--small, pale skin, patch of black hair on her head, in a green onesie,

"I don't like pink, so we went with green," Faith explained, quietly.

Dawn smiled, "Her name is Holly Rose."

Faith rolled her eyes, the serious moment, lost, "I did not name her that, and that is not what I call her--That's not her name."

"Whatever," Dawn said, rubbing a finger over the baby's cheek, "That's what I call her."

"No," Faith said, stepping back, "Y-You can't just call a baby whatever you want. Especially a baby that's not yours."

Dawn folded her arms, "Well, if someone would have stuck to their word, and let me name her--"

"Yeah? Well, if someone would have come up with something better--Look, I don't want to argue with you right now, I'm trying to talk to my sister--who I haven't seen, in how long now? I'm gonna need you to shut the hell up."

"Excuse you, I haven't seen Kennedy for the same amount of time you haven't…"

Kennedy looked between the both of them, going back and forth as they spoke. They were arguing. Not just arguing, but arguing like they had been close for a while--like they were sisters. No, she didn't know where she was anymore. Usually, when she opened her eyes, feeling that familiar surroundings, there was only one person she would see. She wouldn't be in some clothing store, watching two people who she knew never got along, argue as if they had been friends since the beginning of time. It was too much for her; too much, too fast. She felt herself become sick; feeling like she was going to throw up. Then, her world started to spin.

"Hey," Faith said, cutting Dawn off. She looked at her sister with a concerned look, "You okay? Dawn, she ain't lookin' too good."

"I don't know, she said that she'd be in and out. Maybe this is the out part. How it happens, or whatever," she stepped forward, and as soon as she did, Kennedy's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, "Kennedy?!"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"What is wrong with you?" Cordelia asked, staring at Kennedy like she was crazy, "First you're all 'What have you done'--as if any of this is really my fault--and then you're all acting like a freak, staring into space. Maybe you're the one who bumped their head. And, you know, I don't appreciate you blaming this on me. I didn't want them to be dead. Sure, I wanted them to suffer, but I didn't want this. How was I supposed to know who--what Anya was?"

Kennedy blinked repeatedly, adjusting to the light of the room, "What?" she said, confused by what she was hearing, "Cordelia?" she looked around them, seeing that they were in an empty classroom, and it all came flooding back to her, "You haven't fixed this, yet?" she groaned, annoyed by the fact that she wasn't back in the right reality--the one that she really lived in.

"Fixed it. I didn't break it," she defended. She sighed, "Come on, my car's in the parking lot, and with everyone else rushing out, maybe we should follow their lead."

"Fine, but I'm taking my own car," Kennedy said, firmly. Cordelia rolled her eyes, again, and then they headed out of the classroom, through the empty school. It was weird walking through the school, with no one else with it. Usually, even when the last bell had rung, someone was still around. Students, teachers--someone. But, there was no one. It was all silent, "I can't believe she's dead," Kennedy said, sadly.

"I know," Cordelia opened the door, walking outside, "me neither. This is just…I didn't think--If I would have known--We have to fix this. There has to be a way to get back."

"Well, there better be. This world isn't for me. I can't deal with another--" she stopped, as they reached the parking lot, seeing that it was empty, and that the sun was already going down, "It's like school started later, or something…why would they do that," she thought for a moment, as Cordelia panicked about her car, "Curfew. Winter brunches. Late starts--The sun."

Cordelia spotted a man picking up trash in the parking lot, "You," she said, approaching the man, "Where did you put my car?"

"Pardon?" he asked, confused.

Seeing that he was Hispanic--and assuming he didn't know English--she thought of something else to say, something that he might understand, "My auto! El convertablo?"

"That's racist," Kennedy commented, "I'm offended."

The man looked at the both of them, "You students aren't allowed to drive, and you know it."

Both of them gasped, "What?" they said, in unison.

"Go on now, you two. You better get in before the sun sets," he picked up a piece of trash, and then walked away.

Kennedy glared at Cordelia, "You idiot. You put us in a death trap. We're gonna die unless we find somewhere to hide in about, I don't know, five minutes. Do you live minutes away from here? 'Cause I sure as hell don't, and if Buffy hasn't come to Sunnydale, neither does she."

"What are you going on about?" she asked, as she continued to look around, as if her car would magically appear.

"How stupid are you. The curfew, memorials, school starting later…what do these things bring to your mind?" she asked. Cordelia just shrugged, "In the mornings, when you get up for school, is the sun up?"

"No, 'cause they decided to make high school start ridiculously earlier…in the winter, the sun is still down in the mornings. What's your point."

"Winter brunch, curfews after school, memorials to remember a bunch of dead people--my girlfriend included--Something happens here, Cordy," she said, walking past the girl, knowing that she'd follow, "Something happens when the sun goes down, and I don't think we want to find out what this something is. We need to hurry."

"Oh, my, God," she started to panic, "Where will we go?" she asked, trying to keep up with Kennedy.

"I don't know," she admitted, "But wherever we are going, we need to get there fast. I'm thinking we'll have to chance on making it to your house alive. You better hope that I can keep us both alive long enough to get us there," they continued to walk for a while, not seeing anyone around them, until they reached the main street--where the movies, and the Espresso Pump were--both of them empty. As they walked down that street, left and right, doors, with gates in front of them, where being closed for the day, each of them making Cordelia jump.

"Uh, Kennedy, why'd we take this street, again?" she asked, following close behind the girl.

"I had thought that staying on a main street would be safer, but I'm not sure it really matters, anymore," she said, looking around cautiously, "Not here, anyways. One thing I do know is that the main street goes everywhere, so this is the quickest way, even if it isn't he safest."

"How did you even find out where I lived?" Cordelia asked, "I mean, you always just pop up, lately, and I never told you. You were never with Xander when he came over, or anything--You didn't hang out with us…couples--Or, exes now."

"I followed you," Kennedy said, simply, "Or your parents, the night you they took you home from the hospital. Really, though, I could have just asked someone."

"Yeah, it would have been less creepy, if you would have," Cordelia said, as she too looked around. They both turned to look behind them, hearing something, but saw nothing, so they turned to continue in the direction they were originally going in, only to almost run into a familiar face.

"Well," he said, looking mainly at the taller of the two, "what do you know? Cordelia Chase."

"Xander?" Cordelia said, confused by who she was seeing. He stood there, with some black jeans on, a white muscle shirt, and a black leather jacket, "What is this some kind of sick joke? Harmony told me you were dead."

Kennedy took a step back, "Doesn't he look a little pale?" she asked. She knew that he was more than pale. If Harmony had said he was dead, and there he stood, paler than ever, he could have only been one thing--a vampire. She didn't want to say it outright, though she hoped that Cordelia would catch on, because it seemed that he was getting the fact that Cordelia was clueless as to what was going on. That fact, she thought, would give her the upper hand if he were to attack, because he wouldn't be expecting a fight.

"What?" she frowned, "It's not like he was Mr. Tanman before. I just don't get it. Harmony said--"

"Now, why would she say something like that?" he asked, "Let's think."

Cordelia ignored his odd behavior, "Listen to me. We have to find Buffy. She'll figure out a way to save us. She was supposed to be here…and as much as it kill me to admit it…things were better when she was around."

"Buffy?" he said, "The slayer?"

She rolled her eyes, "No. Buffy the dog-faced girl," she sighed, "Duh! Who do you think I'm talking about?"

"He's not gonna know her, Cordy," Kennedy said, pointing out the obvious.

"Bored now."

Kennedy followed the voice, one that she knew, for sure, "Oh, no," she said, as she watched her walk out of the shadows. She was wearing all leather, tight leather pants, a leather sleeved corset that had long red sleeves, with red fabric at the top of the black leather cupping her breasts. Her nails were black, and her skin paler than ever, "God, no."

"This is the part that's less fun. When there isn't any screaming," she said, walking up to Xander, getting extremely close to him.

Cordelia frowned, in disgust, "What's up with you two and the leather?"

Willow rubbed her hand over Xander's chest, ignoring the girl's question, and presence to be more frank, "Play now," she said, smiling.

Kennedy braced herself for what she knew was about to happen. She never thought she'd see the day where she'd have to fight either of the people in front of her--well, not people, but still. In her mind, she was telling herself to just run. That she didn't want to face what she was about to face, but she couldn't do that. Doing that would put not only her life at risk, but Cordelia's too. There was no way the girl would be able to keep up with her pace, she couldn't even keep up with the reality they were in. So she stood there, waiting for them to make their move, and hoping that she could protect herself, and Cordelia.

"It's not that I don't appreciate your appetite, Will…" he said, glancing at her sideways, "but I thought we agreed it was my turn," he finished, receiving a whine from Willow.

Cordelia folded her arms, "No. No!" she said, seeing that the two of them were more than just friends, in that reality, "No way! I wish us into Bizarro land and you guys are not only friends, but you're a couple? I cannot win!"

"Probably not," he said, as he finally revealed what he was. With his fangs showing, he growled, "But I'll hive you a head start."

Cordelia gasped, "No," she yelled, as she took off running.

"Cordelia, wait," Kennedy called, as she readied herself to run after the girl, but then she thought of a better plan. She could try to take them both on, let Cordelia go, and hope that the girl did eventually find Buffy, even if she wasn't with her when she did.

"I love this part," Willow said, excitedly. Then, the two of them kissed--practically made out.

Kennedy gagged, "Ick."

They continued to ignore her, "You love all the parts," Xander said, smiling, then he started to take off, but was stopped by a fist hitting him square in the face, and sending him to the ground.

Kennedy laughed, "Sorry, I can't really let you kill her, so…let's just keep this between the three of us, shall we?"

Willow vamped, and walked up to the girl, "Don't I know you?" she asked, sniffing the girl. She pushed her suddenly, not giving her the time to answer, sending her flying a few feet off. Then, she looked back at Xander, who was getting up, "You take the other girl. I've got this one."

"Whatever you say, baby," he said, angry that he had been hit, but he went along with what Willow said, taking off to get Cordelia.

Kennedy stood up, "Looks like you're the one that wears the pants, then," she said, getting the vampires attention, while also hoping that Cordelia had either gotten far enough away, or found a good hiding spot. By the force behind the that push, she knew that the vampires in that reality were stronger than the ones in the Sunnydale she lived in, meaning that they fed more. She had to be careful, or she'd end up being the next meal. She took a step, reaching to punch the vampire--which she had to keep saying in her mind--but her fist was caught.

"I like it when they fight," she said, smiling through her fangs. She held the girl's fist tight, and hit her twice in the stomach, knocking the air out of her, and twisted her arm around, putting it behind her back, "I think I'm gonna keep you," she said, putting her lips to the girl's ear, "Would you like that? From the way you were looking at me earlier, I think you would? You could be my new pet. I'd play with you everyday."

She head-but her, making her let go, then turned and kicked her in the chest, "Sorry, I only play with one redhead, and you're not her," the vampire growled at her, back handing her across the face, and making her lose her footing.

"You'd like it, though. I could do things to you that you could only imagine. I could make you scream," she smiled.

Kennedy flinched, "See, you saying that," she said, putting her hand to her aching cheek, "Only makes me want to hit you harder--kill you faster. I can't be around you while you're like this," she let slip, and wanted to take it back, as soon as she had.

"So I do know you, then," she said, letting her face go back to normal. They heard a scream, and she smiled, "Looks like he caught her after all," she launched herself at Kennedy, her face morphing again, and hit her repeatedly--face, stomach, wherever she could, and once the girl was barely able to breath, let alone move, she knocked her too the ground, "Guess you aren't gonna get the chance to kill me, but you will get to be with me forever," she reached down, grabbed one of the girl's wrists, and dragged her down the street to where Xander was, to see that Cordelia was already out; knocked on conscious, lying on the ground, "Aw, I guess yours was easy…boring," she let Kennedy's wrist go, "This one was fun," she said, looking down at Kennedy, who got to her knees, and crawled over to Cordelia, "I think I'll keep her."

A bright light came towards them, along with the sound of squealing tires, "Aw, swell," Xander said, frustrated, "It's the white hats."

The van stopped, and a man got out of the front seat, holding a large wooden cross up, as the van's side door slid open, and two others--a girl and a boy--jumped out with stakes and crosses, while in the driver seat sat a boy holding a crossbow.

"I've got them!" the older man, said, "Get the girls!"

Kennedy, who had checked Cordelia's pulse, and found that she was alive, stood up, lifting the top part of Cordelia's body, while the two from the back of the van grabbed the bottom half. As she lifted her, breathing heavily, and bleeding from her nose, and mouth, she couldn't help but stare at the older man, and the boy in the driver seat--Oz, and Giles. Once they got Cordelia in the van, the two vampires hissing, as they moved, Kennedy stepped up to get in as well, only to have one of her feet grabbed.

"She's mine," Vampire Willow growled, as she pulled the girl's foot.

Kennedy lost her balance, feeling the pull of the vampires hand, and slipped. Her head hit the edge of the van, as she fell to the ground, a gash on her head beginning to bleed. She stared up at the dark sky, her vision blurry, and her body slowly going numb, then it happened again. Her world was spinning.

Giles stepped forward, putting the cross closer to the female vampire, and she let go of the girl's leg, "Nancy, Larry get her in the van, hurry," once the girl was in, they all got in the van, and took off, leaving the two fuming vampires standing in the middle of the street.

Willow sighed, "They ruin everything," she looked down at the ground to see that some of the girl's blood was on it, and kneeled down over it, dipping her fingers in it, and tasting it, "I'll have to go and get her, later."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Alright," Giles said, as he helped carry the bleeding girl into the library, "Let's put this one in the cage, since she's bleeding. The smell might lead some vampires to us, and since she's out, it'd be best to at least try to put her somewhere safe. Put the other one on the table, over there," he gestured, with his head. After he set the girl down, in the cage, he stood up to go get something to wrap her head with, examining Cordelia on the way.

"How's she doing?" Oz asked, looking down at Cordelia.

Giles picked up the girl's wrist, "Her pulse is strong. I think we'll have to worry about the other one more than this one."

"What was she doing wearing that?" Nancy--a tall girl, with brown hair, and hazel eyes--asked, "Everyone knows that vampires are attracted to bright colors."

Larry looked over Giles' shoulder, "That's Cordelia Chase. It's better to look good than to feel alive."

"Who's the other one?" Oz asked, looking over to the other unconscious girl, "I don't recognize her."

Giles frowned, "None of you know her?" he asked. All of them shook their head no, "I guess we'll have to wait until she wakes up, to find out. Uh, go and watch the perimeters…in case they followed," he ordered. After they had all gone, he looked between the two girls, "What is going on?" he wondered, aloud.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

She groaned as she felt the pain of her pounding head. At first, she wasn't sure what had happened; why she was in pain, but then she remembered her face--She remembered her face as it turned into something evil; a soulless creature, with a taste for blood. Never had she thought she'd see the day--but of course, given how crazy her life was in general--of course it happened. Her life only seemed to get crazier, when she thought it couldn't get any worse. It was just like a movie. She'd announce that it couldn't get any worse, and it would, just to prove who was in charge--and it wasn't her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, hearing some noises around her. What she opened them to see was not familiar. She was in a room, lying on a bed. It was dark outside, she knew that, because she could see the moon the through the cracks of the black curtains. There were stacks of books against the wall, making her thing for a second that maybe she was at Giles' place. That he had rescued her, and taken her to a safe place, but it wasn't Giles who she saw approach the dresser in the corner of the room.

"Dawn?" she called, once again confused, but then she got that feeling. That feeling like she was in that familiar place, and her mind was slightly at ease--That was until she remembered what had happened at the clothing store.

"You're awake?" she said, smiling, as she walked over to the bed. She sat down at the end of it, pulling her legs up to sit Indian style, "We were a little worried earlier," she laughed slightly, "First you were all, surprise, at the clothing store. Then, you pass out--And then, poof! You disappeared into thin air, at the store, so we thought that that was the last time we'd see you--at least today, anyways. But, then I found you in the hallway, so…I'm guessing not," she sighed, "This is so weird, you know?"

She cleared her throat, feeling a little scratching feeling, "Actually, no," she reached to touch her head, and found that it was wrapped in a bandage, "The van…how--What?"

"Van?" Dawn repeated, questioningly, "What van? I mean, I'm sure it feels like you got hit by a van," she laughed, "You hit a clothing rack, on the way down, earlier. There was some bleeding, and you might have cracked your head open," she saw the look of panic in the girl's eyes, "Oh, no, but don't worry. We patched you up."

"We?" she asked.

"Yeah, me and Melanie--Of course, you don't her, so…But we're glad that you're okay. That was a little scary," she paused, a smile growing across her face, "Aren't you gonna tell me that I'm aging well--Older and sexier?" she joked, making Kennedy laugh.

"Sorry, I'm never gonna see you as sexy, but you did age well," she laughed.

There was a knock at the door, and she turned her body to look, "Come in," a girl--a very young girl--walked in. She looked to be about ten or eleven, had auburn hair, green eyes, and tanned skin, "Melanie," Dawn said, seeing the girl walk in, "I was just talking about you."

"Here's what you told me to get," the girl said, giving Dawn a cup, "I don't know if it's enough, or not…" she shrugged, and then looked at Kennedy, "So she's awake? Hmm," she took a closer look, "She doesn't look that tough."

Dawn smiled, "Isn't she great?" she asked, sarcastically, "Thanks Mel. You can leave now."

The girl rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I'm outta here. She said you've got about ten minutes till we begin, so you might want to make it quick," she said, as she walked out of the room.

Once she was out, Kennedy looked to Dawn, "Who was that?" she asked.

"Oh," she opened and closed her mouth, and then laughed nervously, unsure of what to say--or what she could say, "She's…um--She's adopted…sort of."

Kennedy frowned, "By who."

Her eyebrows went up, "What?"

She pushed herself up to sit against the headboard of the bed, ignoring the pain that it caused, "Who. Adopted. Her. Question mark--Just in case you didn't get that part."

Dawn stood up, still laughing nervously, "Look, I'm not really supposed to, um, tell you certain stuff…sorry. I just have one job--and that's to send you back."

"Back? Back where?" she asked.

She gave her an odd look, "Well, you know you don't belong here, right?"

There was something about the way Dawn had said that, that made her a little uneasy. She didn't know what it was, but something was wrong. Something, she didn't understand, but she knew it was there, "Yeah, I got that part. I'm asking where you're sending me. Back to where I was right before this, or back in the hell I was in?" she asked, hoping to get the first.

With the cup in hand, she went over to the dresser, put the cup on top of it, and began to take things out of its top drawer, "I don't know," she looked over at Kennedy, "Not part of my job description to find out. I just have to get you back before things get started around here," she grabbed another item out of the drawer, put it on top of the dresser, and then closed the drawer.

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" she asked, watching the girl closely.

"Oh, I already have," she said, nodding, "It just takes a minute. While we're waiting, though, I'm curious to know what you've been up to," Kennedy was silent, "Fine, I get it. Not wanting to tell me stuff, 'cause I'm not telling you anything. Totally understand, but it would make it easier--going back--on your body, if you talked to me while it's happening. Take your mind off of it. You can tell me anything, remember?"

After still not saying anything, she began to feel something. Like something was crawling inside of her. She looked at Dawn, who had gone back to whatever she was doing, and then looked away, "It was weird," she began, "Seeing the two of you act like that, when her and I aren't even really talking. Things are just so crazy back home--A-and I'm not really sure, you know? How to live without her. I mean, she's there--'causing trouble, as usual," she laughed, "But, she's not really there. Since we've stopped talking, I've found it hard to keep going. To keep fighting evil, because that's not really what I did when it was just me and her. I was with her when she fought, and sometimes I would jump in, but really--I was just protecting her. That's all I know how to do--protect people, I guess. This whole thing with Cordelia just proves it. Before all of this, I don't think I really would have been able to explain why I've been helping her, but now I see it--she's like a substitute. I can't protect Faith, anymore, so I'll just protect someone else," she laughed, again, "I don't know how to live any other way. And, if she's not around--then, I'm lost. I feel like I've got no one. Everyone else is there, but they're not her--they're not my sister…So, seeing the two of you like that--"

"You're wrong," Dawn said, cutting her off. She went over to her bedroom window, moved a curtain aside, and peeked out, "She doesn't know how to live without you, either. But, she has no choice," a bright light from outside, made its way into the room, making Dawn turn away, "It's started. Goodbye, Kennedy."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

The two vampires walked into the club, his arm around her shoulder, with her holding the hand of that arm, and with her other arm around his waist. It was crowded; full of other leather wearing vampires, and techno was blasting from the speakers, covering some of the sounds of screams. Throughout the room, a couple the vampires were feeding on the nights catch, while others gathered around the cages hung from the ceiling, admiring the terrified human locked within it. She saw one man she found intriguing, and walked away from Xander, going over to pet the human, hoping that she would be able to pay him a visit later--get rid of the anger she had over what had happened earlier--and then she went back over to Xander, joining hands with him, as they continued to make their way through the club. As they passed the pool tables, they saw that a human--one that was alive, and unbitten--was tied up to one, while vampires played pool on the table, purposely hitting the man.

Xander, approving of what he was seeing, reached his hand out to one of the vampires, "Slap my hand, dead soul man," he said, as he continued to walk. The other vampire laughed, and slapped his hand, as the two vampires disappeared behind a red curtain. They stopped walking when a few feet away from where the ancient vampire sat--the Master.

"Ahh. Xander. Willow," he said, getting two his feet. He reached beside him, and pulled a girl--who was still alive, but had been fed off of--up by her hair, "Hungry?" he asked, instantly seeing the excitement in Willow's eyes, "I've lost my appetite for this one," she said, looking at her, as she too looked at him, "She keeps looking at me. I'm trying to eat, and she looks at me," he looked back over to Willow, who was practically panting with excitement, as he threw the dying girl towards her. After she caught the girl, Willow looked at him for approval, "Go on," he said, and as soon as he got the two words out, Willow vamped, and dove her fangs into the girl's neck, pulling her out of the room, as she did, "I remember that lust for the kill," he reminisced, then he sat back down in his tall arm chair, and crossed his legs, "Now…what news on the Rialto?"

"Had a prime kill. Old crush, really," he admitted, "till that wanna-slay librarian showed up."

"He'll be dealt with soon enough," he said, waving his hand.

"Weird thing, there was two of them--the old crush, and another girl--and the girl packed a punch. Like, uh, an almost un-human punch. Willow had here, though. The one I had kept talking about Buffy," he looked to the side, as Willow came back in, wiping her mouth as she did, "Gotta get Buffy here," he continued, saying what he could remember Cordelia saying, "Isn't that what they called the slayer?"

Willow walked over to Xander, once again getting extremely close to him, "Hmm. Buffy. Ooh. Scary," she smiled, sarcastically.

"Someone has to talk to her people. That name is striking fear in nobody's hearts," Xander said, understanding what his girlfriend was saying.

He stood up, angrily, "She talked of summoning a slayer here…now, at this time…and you didn't kill her?"

Willow pouted, "Well, they had crosses."

"And what about this other girl? You fought her," he said, lifting Willow's chin, and looking at the bruise on her face, "obviously. What did she say?"

"Nothing really. Just that she wanted to kill me--I think I know her," she said, thinking back to the fight she had had with her, "She seemed familiar."

"The plant begins operation in less than twenty-four hours," he said, running his hand over the redhead's hair, "You will find these girls," he moved down to her cheek, and lifted his other hand to Xander's cheek, "You will kill the one who talked of summoning the slayer, and you will bring the other one to me…or I'll see you two kissing daylight."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Cordelia opened her eyes, groaning, and putting her hand to her head, as she began to sit up. Giles, hearing her, and seeing that she was trying to sit up, ran down the library stairs, over to her, "Hey!" he said, trying to get her to lay back down.

"Giles!" she said, relieved to see a familiar face, "It's all my fault! I wasn't--I made this stupid wish--"

He put his hands on her shoulders, "Come on. Please lie--"

"No!" she said, pushing his hands away, "You have to get Buffy. Buffy changes it. It wasn't like this. It was better. I mean the clothes alone--But people were happy," she paused, "Mostly. And--Kennedy! Oh, my, God. She's dead isn't she? I got her killed."

He shook his head, "Kennedy, the girl you were with?" he asked, "No, she's fine. We have her in the cage, just in case the smell of her blood, leads them to us…not that they don't already know where we are. Look--Just please, lie down."

"Wait," Cordelia said, looking at him oddly, "Why are you here and she's not?" she asked, standing up, and moving away from him, "I mean, you--you were her watcher."

"H-How do you know I was a watcher?" he asked, taking his glasses off, "I've never--" the sound of footsteps made him stop. He put his glasses back on, and looked around, hoping that he hadn't really heard anything.

"What?" Cordelia asked, hadn't heard anything, but also looking around, "What?"

"I thought I heard something," he said, going over to the cage to get a cross, and a stake, just incase he had actually heard footsteps, and there was going to be an attack, "Now, I want you to start again…and explain everything very carefully," he turned to walk back over to her, but had the cage slammed in his face.

Willow, vamped, and smiling, walked into his view, the key to the cage in hand, "You're in a big cage," she said, happily. Then, she looked down, "And so is she…Aw, and I wanted to take her. What was it the other one called her--Kennedy," she whined, "Looks like she's dead, anyways."

"Not to bright, book guy," an already vamped Xander said, holding Cordelia tight a little ways off, as she struggled, with his hand over her mouth, to muffle her screams.

Willow smiled at Xander, and then turned back to the cage, to have the man slam a big cross against the cage, making her back up, snarling.

"So you're a watching, huh?" Xander asked, once Willow was no the other side of Cordelia, "Watch this," he bit down into the girls neck, and then Willow followed suit. He reached with his free hand, and put his hand on the back of Willow's head, putting his fingers through it as they drained the girl dry. Once they knew she was dead, after ignoring the old man yelling no, and rattling the cage--they pulled back, letting her body simply drop to the ground.

With blood on her face, Willow threw the key aside, and looked over at the man, "If she doesn't die," she said, gesturing to Kennedy, "Tell her that I'm waiting for her to give it another shot."

After standing there furious, and thinking about how stupid he had been to turn his back, Giles went back into the weapons cabinet, and pulled out an axe. He hit the lock of the cage, repeatedly until it opened, and then rushed over to Cordelia, checking to see if she had a pulse, and finding that she didn't have one.

Oz and Larry ran down the library stairs out of breath, and beaten up, falling onto the ground in front of the man, "They hit us right outside," Larry explained.

"Nancy?" the man asked.

Oz shook his head, "She's dead."

Giles took off his glasses, and sighed, "Um…would you mind…Could you take her to the incinerator?" he asked, as he stood up, "I have some business to…" he watched them lift the girl, carefully, and then noticed something for the first time, "Wait a moment," he said, putting his glasses back on. He reached to the back of her neck, and took of the necklace around it, and then they continued towards the incinerator.

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The Master pushed the bottom of what used to be an espresso machine, watching the blood pour into his small espresso cup, as Xander and Willow entered the room.

"The deed is done," Xander said, as he watched him.

He turned towards them, "You killed the girl who sought the slayer?" he asked.

"It was too easy," Xander huffed.

"I felt cheap," she said, pouting.

"And what about the other girl?" he asked. He had thought they'd bring her directly to him, and was disappointed to see they hadn't.

Willow stepped forward, before Xander could say anything, "She's already dead," she said, thinking of her own plans. Plans that she felt the master didn't need to know about. Xander gave her a look, which she returned, while the master wasn't looking at them, letting him know who was in charge.

"Excellent," he said, turning back to them, having put his cup down, "The opening will commence as scheduled."

She stepped even closer to him, "So you're pleased?" she asked.

He looked at her, "Ecstatic."

"Then…can I play with the puppy?" she asked, looking up at him.

He lifted his arm out of the way, so she could get the key from his waist band, "Be my guest."

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After thinking about what Cordelia said, before he watched her be killed by the two vampires, Giles had gone to his office, in hopes of coming up with some plan. First, he started to look for anything in his books that could tell him about the necklace he had removed from around her neck, but that wasn't a quick enough method to his liking, because he had nothing to go on, except for the necklace itself. So, after putting that aside, he had tried to see if he could wake the other girl, but that hadn't worked. The blow to her head had to have pretty hard, he knew that, but he had hoped that she would eventually wake up. Seeing that that too would take lots of time, he thought of something else. He had found his list of contacts--watcher contacts--and found Buffy Summers' watcher's number, had actually gotten him, but that wasn't going well, either.

"Yes, I understand," he said, gripping the phone, "but it's imperative that I see hurt…Here…Well…when will you?…Yeah, well, you are her watcher. I'd expect her to at least check in for--Yes, I'm aware that there's a great deal of demonic activity in Cleveland…It--Well, it happens, you know that--that Sunnydale is on a hellmouth. It--It is so…Well--Just--Just give her the message…if you ever see her again," he said, angrily, as he hung up the phone. He took off his glasses, rubbed his face, and then put them back on, looking through his window at Kennedy, "Please wake up, soon," he sighed, and then looked at the necklace, and went back to researching that.

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It was day time, again, and Willow found herself bored. Finally, she was going to take advantage of having permission to play with the puppy. She looked at him, as he laid there on his side, facing the opposite way in his cell, "Bored now," she said, walking past it, over to the wall of torture devices, "Day time is the worst," she rubbed her hand over some of the items--whips, brass knuckles, and all sorts of other things, "Copped up for hours. Can't hunt," she grabbed a pair of sharp, well sized, scissors, and then ran them against the cell bars, making him flinch, "But the master aid I could play. Isn't that fun, puppy?" she asked, as she opened the cell, "Aw…Puppy's being all quiet," she pouted, "Come on. Don't be a spoilsport," she leaned against the bars, staring down at him, "I think I've met someone, puppy. Someone that's more fun than you," she shrugged, "I told Master that she was dead…Oops, I lied," she laughed, "I have my own plans for her. But…she's taking a nap right now, so I'll have to play with you," she walked over to him, putting one foot one side of his body, and her other foot on the other side, which made him flinch again. Then, she kneeled over him, pulling his head up by his hair, so his face was next to hers, "Guess what today is," she said, running the blades over his face, "Today the plant opens. It's a big party," she licked the side of his face, and smiled, "You remember I told you about the plant. All those people you tried to save? It's gonna be quick for them," she said, putting the scissors down, so she could run her nails down his throat repeatedly--not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to make it hurt--"You should get a new name, don't you think? Some angel you are. Yeah, it'll be quick for them, but not for you. It's gonna be slow for you," she turned him over suddenly, straddling his hips, "That's right, puppy…Willow's gonna make you bark," she said, pulling his shirt open, and revealing all the sours that she had put on his chest--some of them deep wounds: some of them scratches: some of them bruises. She put her finger to one of the deeper ones, making him buck, her riding him as he did, "Maybe I went to hard on you last time," she said, as he panted, and screamed with her every touch.

Xander walked up to the cell, only taking a step in, as he lit a match. He threw it past Willow, getting it to land perfectly on the 'puppy's' chest, and making him scream, "Too hard?" he asked, "No such thing."

Willow turned her head towards Xander, "Watch it with those things. You almost got my hair."

"Sorry," he threw her the large box of matches, "Got carried away."

"Don't you want to?" she asked.

He shook his head, running his hand down the cell bars, "No, thanks, baby. I just wanna watch you go."

She turned back to Angel, lit a match, and dropped it on his chest, "Told you I'd make you scream."

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Giles stood up from his desk, a book in his hand, "Here it is!" he said, excitedly. He walked out of his office, over to where Oz was tightening a screw on a crossbow, and Larry was sharpening a stake, "I found it. Look," he showed them the picture, matching the necklace--in black and white-- "It's what, uh, Cordelia was wearing. It's the-the, uh…symbol of--Of Anyanka."

Oz looked at the man, still tightening the screw, "I don't think I know her," he said, in his usual tone.

"Well, no. Uh, um, Anyanka is sort of a," he turned and sat on the edge of the table the boys were standing at, "patron saint of scorned women."

"What does she do?" Larry asked.

"Uh, she grants wishes," Giles answered, removing he glasses, and placing the end of one side in his mouth.

"So Cordelia wished for something?" Oz questioned. Then, he huffed, "Will, if it was a long healthy life…she should get her money back."

Ignoring the boys comment, Giles continued to think, "She said something about everything being different…that the world wasn't supposed to be like this. It was, um, better. Before."

Larry stopped sharpening the stake, "Ok. The entire world sucks because some dead ditz made a wish?" he asked, provoking looks from the two both Giles, and Oz, "I just want it clear," he said, going back to sharpening.

Giles put his glasses back on, "She said, the, uh, the slayer was supposed to be here…was meant to have been here already."

"Certainly would have helped," Oz said, as he continued.

"Yes. I tried calling her, but, um…Look, I'm gonna have to…" he stood up, "research this Anyanka thing further. Um, I have some more volumes at home," he said, thinking about everything he had heard the girl say, along with what little information he did have. He grabbed his jacket, and a few books, "You two get some sleep," he said, as he started to leave.

"Watch your back," Oz advised, as he continued to screw the loose screw. After screwing it a while longer, after Giles had been gone, he sighed, and put it down, "I think it's stripped," he concluded. He heard a groan come from the cage, and walked over to it, to see the girl waking up, "Hey, hold on," he said, going to help her up, "You should move slowly after that hard of a blow to the head," he helped her over to a chair at the table, "How does it feel?" he asked.

"Like a just had an elephant step on my head," she said, rubbing her head. She looked the boy over, "You have no clue how ironic you helping me is."

"Okay," he said, with a shrug, "You're names Kennedy, right? I'm Oz, and this is Larry."

"Hey," Larry nodded.

She looked around, "Where's Cordelia?" she asked, realizing that the girl was nowhere in sight.

"Uh, sorry to tell you this, but…she's dead," Oz said, sympathetically, "The two vamps that attacked you earlier came here and killed her a few hours ago," he looked at the bandage around her head, as she sat silently, obviously thinking about what he had just told her, "Can I--" he reached towards the bandage, and Kennedy nodded, "I just want to make sure you're not still bleeding," he took of the bandage to see that the gash on her head looked like it was already healing--like it had been healing for a while. Then he looked at the bruises on her face, and her healing lip, "Wow, you're, uh, healing pretty quickly."

"Genetics," she said, as she leaned over and put her face in her hands, "This is the worst day I've ever had in my life…recently," she thought about everything that had happened since Cordelia had made the wish that sent them to the hell she was in. Not only did she have her actual life to worry about, she also had the life she was having to deal with at the moment--the one where she had just found out that she had failed to protect Cordelia--, and there was the life that she kept wandering into that she didn't understand at all. She lifted her head, "Where's Giles?"

"You just missed him, really," Oz said. He sat on the table, "So what's your part?" he asked. She looked over at him, confused, "In all of this?"

"Innocent bystander ," she laughed, "As usual."

"So, you're like me then," he smiled.

She felt a pain of guilt at seeing him smile--him being nice to her period, really, "Not exactly," she said, sadly.

"Whatever you did," he said, noticing the look in her eyes, "I forgive you. Just to let you know."

Kennedy forced a smile, "Thanks," she stood up, "Did Giles go to his place?" she asked.

Larry nodded, "Yeah. That's where all the rest of his books are, so that's where he was headed. He's trying to find information on the necklace Cordelia was wearing, along with a saint lady named Anyanka. Said, something about Cordelia making a wish. He's probably gonna try to reverse it."

"Good," Kennedy said, relieved, "Well, um, I'm gonna go, then," Oz started to protest, "Stopping me really isn't a possibility."

He stood up, "I'm sure it isn't. I was just gonna suggest that you let me give you a different shirt to wear, and that you wash the blood out of you hair. Maybe wash your face, too, so you won't leave a lingering smell of blood as you walk down the streets. It's dark out, now, so…I don't think you want to make it easier to get killed."

"I guess I could use a shirt," she said, knowing he was right.

"Some of Nancy's clothes are down the hall," Larry suggested, "She won't be needed them, anymore."

Kennedy nodded, "Thanks, I appreciate it," after Oz got her a shirt, she headed into one of the school restrooms, a crossbow in hand. She took off her bloody shirt, washed the blood out of her hair, and off of her face. After putting the other shirt on, she looked at her bruised face, remembering the redhead, "After I see him…I'm coming for you--I will kill you."

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Giles slowed his car, seeing a group of people being loaded into a delivery truck by a group of vampires. He reached over and grabbed his stake, and cross--which he had used a lot over the past day and a half--and got out, running towards the group of vampires, who backed away hissing.

"Run!" he said, to the people, as he stood his ground. Once he saw that all the people were out of the truck, and running, he knew that was all he could do, and so he turned to run back to his car, before he was the one forced into the truck, but was stopped when one of the vampires slammed the door of the truck into his face, making him fall onto his back. The vampires all reached for him, and he closed his eyes, preparing for the pain, only to notice that nothing was happening. In fact, when he opened his eyes, it was to see a girl--wearing dark greenish pants, a grey shirt, and a black jacket, with dirty blonde hair in a single braid at the back of her head, black eye liner and shadow, a cross at her neck, and a scar running over her lips, like someone had swung an knife at her face, and was only able to swipe her sideways from above her lips, all the way to her chin--fighting and staking the vamps. When she was done, she walked over to him, "Buffy Summers?" he asked, still lying on the ground.

"That's right," she said, with an attitude, "Wanna tell me what I'm doing here?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Giles was sitting on his stairs, which had a stack of book on nearly every step, lining the walls, "Ah! Ah! Ah!" he said, standing up, and looking down at the slayer, who had been walking around downstairs, doing nothing, "Yes. Here," he began to read the text, "In order to defeat Anyanka…one must destroy her power center," he said, as he walked down the stairs, "This should reverse all the wishes she's granted rendering her mortal and powerless again," he approached the slayer, "You see? Without her power center she'd just be an ordinary woman again. And all this would be, um…well, different," he closed the book in his hand, and took of his glasses--a smile on his face, "Well, I'd say that my watcher muscles haven't completely atrophied after all."

She stared him with a blank expression, "Great," she said, sarcastically, "What's her power center?" she said, seeing that he had skipped that part--the part she was good at--the part she cared about.

"Um, well," he put his glasses back on, and looked in the book, closing it after a moment, with disappointment, "It doesn't say."

"Why don't I just put a stake through her heart?" she suggested, as she walked over to his bar in front of the kitchen, picking up a bottle of scotch.

"She's not a vampire," he pointed out.

She smelled the scotch, and then put it down, turning to look at the man, while leaning against the bar, "Well, you'd be surprised how many things that'll kill."

"I don't want to kill her, Ms. Summers. I want to reverse whatever effect she's had on this--this world," he said, gesturing to their surroundings.

She sighed, "You're taking an awful lot on faith here, Jeeves."

"Giles," he corrected.

She shrugged, "Kill the bad fairy…destroy the bad fairy's power center, whatever…and all the troubles go away?"

"Well, I'm sure it's not that simple, but--"

"World is what it is. We fight we die. Wishing doesn't change that," she said, nonchalantly.

"Wow, you sound just like someone I know," Kennedy said, as she walked in the door.

Buffy rushed over to her, slammed her against the door, knocking the crossbow out of her hands, and put a stake to her chest, "Speaking of things a stake would kill," she said, staring at the girl, "Who are you?"

"If you would have staked first," Kennedy said, looking the girl over, "You would be her."

Giles walked over to them, "She was with the girl--the one that had the necklace. She's not a danger to us."

She let her go, "You're lucky," the slayer said, disappointed.

Kennedy gave the slayer a fake smile, and walked over to Giles' desk, "What have you got so far?" she asked, seeing that his books were open.

"We've found that there's a way to reverse the wish," he said, watching the girl's every move. He noticed how quickly some of her wounds had healed, and questioned it within himself. Perhaps, there was something to worry about, "Please," he said, getting her to turn to him, "I was trying to tell Buffy that I believe there has to be a world better than this one."

"There is a better world," she said, looking at the girl who looked like the Buffy she knew--but she knew it wasn't her--she could feel the difference; the darkness surrounding her.

"Well, the two of you can go ahead and believe in this better world," she said, walking past the both of them, over to a low table, where she lifted her foot and put her boot on, and spit in her hand to wipe it off, "I have to live in this one."

"Cordelia said she knew that I was meant to be Buffy's watcher," he said, turning his attention to Kennedy, "That she knew Buffy."

"She's probably just a big fan," Buffy said, looking over at the two of them.

Kennedy laughed, "Hardly. That's how we got into this mess. Look, Giles," she said, seriously, "I know that you probably have a ton of questions going through your head right now about all of this, but I don't think there's time to answer them. We need to figure out how to reverse the wish, so it can go back to the way things were. Things are so different, there," she gestured towards Buffy, "She's your slayer, you're her watcher, and things are better--You're happy. She is too, occasionally."

"Hey," Buffy said, stepping between the two of them, and pushing Kennedy against the back of the man's couch, "I don't see you wearin' a slayer badge," she said, getting in the girl's face, "How do you know it's not just this, and you weren't off in la-la land?" she asked.

"Because Willow's--Willow's a vampire," she said, pushing the slayer back, "And because Faith's not here."

She was about to hit the girl; about to strike her down for pushing her, until she heard that name, "Faith? How do you know who Faith is?" she asked, but Kennedy said, nothing, "Hey! Answer me, damn it."

Giles looked at Kennedy, seeing that she wasn't blinking, for a moment, "Something's wrong, she's--" as he spoke, Kennedy collapsed, and Buffy caught her, "Put her on the couch, here," he said, walking around the couch, "Be careful, she has a head injury."

Buffy put the girl down, and looked at the man, "How does she know who Faith is?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," he said, checking Kennedy's pulse, "I don't know who you're talking about. Buffy, the Master sent his most vicious disciples to kill her, and Cordelia. They must pose some sort of threat--they have to be telling the truth. We need to--"

"The Master?" she asked, the name catching her attention.

"Um, supreme vampire around these parts," he said, as he reached to take a look at Kennedy's head, "He lives on the outskirts of town in an old club."

"You know where he lives and no one's ever tried to take him out?"

"People have tried," he said, frustrated with the girl

"Well," she went over to grab her crossbow, which had a sash like strap on it that she put across her over her head, and let rest on her chest, so she wouldn't have to carry the crossbow in her hands, "point the way. I might as well do some good while I'm in this town," not only did she want something to hit, she also wanted to get out of the man's home, and away from the girl passed out on the couch. It had been a long time since she had heard Faith's name, but it still brought all of the painful memories she had back to the surface, so she felt like she needed to escape--to run.

He walked over to her, "You can't just walk in there and--"

"Look, you wanna stay here and play make believe, with a girl who's obviously out of her mind, fine. I'm not gonna be any help to you anyway. There's only one thing I'm good at."

"At least let's muster some kind of force," he offered.

"I don't play well with others," she said, coldly, "Now, I'm gonna ask you this once and then I'm gonna get testy. Where is this club?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Kennedy opened her eyes to the sound of a loud explosion, finding herself in what looks like the middle of a battlefield, while a battle was actually going on. It was dark outside, but the sky was lit by the random fires on patches of land on the field, and by arrows with flaming tips. There was another explosion, a few feet away from her, making the ground shake, and her knees almost give out.

"Kennedy," a voice called. They grabbed her by the arm, "What are you doing in the direct line of fire?" they asked, as they pulled her as fast as they could, barely being missed by flaming arrows, and landmines going off right as they passed. They wrapped their arm around Kennedy, "Jump," they shouted, jumping down into the bunker. They laughed, and put their back against the wall of the bunker, "Wow, I had heard that you've been popping up, but I hadn't expected you to show up in the middle of this."

She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath really, and staring straight forward, beyond confused by what was going on around her, "What--? Where--?" she turned her head towards who had grabbed her, only seeing the back of their head at first, but when they turned around she saw who it was, "Buffy?"

She smiled, "Hey," she started to check Kennedy for wounds, "Did you get hit?" she asked, "I know about the head thing, but I gotta make sure you didn't get hit anywhere else. She would kill me if you ended up with some kind of impairing injury."

"What's going on?" Kennedy asked, shrugging the girls' hands away.

"Not sure," Buffy said, understanding why the girl would be so freaked out, "All I know is what she told me, which is that you'd be popping up from time to time. I didn't believe it until Faith told me that she had seen you earlier, and Dawn told me that she had you up in her room earlier. I came by to see you, but you were out, and I had to get ready for this."

"What is this, exactly?"

"Slayer training," she said, poking her head out of the bunker, "The others have been none to use homemade bombs, and other things like that, so we're getting the girl's ready for it. It took us hours to set this thing up, but we finally got it done," she spotted something flying towards them, and settled herself back inside, ducking and covering her ears, "In coming!"

Kennedy started to panic, "What?" before she could even think to duck, there was an explosion above them, making the bunker shake, and dust fly threw it's cracks. When she heard the sound of coughing--multiple people coughing, she looked around, and noticed what she thought had been a lot of dirt, turned out to be a lot of girls who had been ducking, "What the hell?"

"We met earlier," one of them yelled. She was covered in dirt, so she understood the confused look on Kennedy's face, "Melanie, remember?"

Her eyes went wide, "You're like ten," Kennedy said, shocked. She looked at Buffy, "What the hell is going on? Where am I? I thought I knew, but now…I'm not so sure," Buffy didn't answer her, instead, she poked her head out again, and this time a flaming arrow made its way through, landing on Kennedy, "Shit! Shit! Get it off!"

Buffy grabbed the arrow, threw it to the side, covered it with dirt, and it went out. Then she turned to Kennedy, "I can't really tell if it got you? Does anything burn?" she asked, trying to see with little light they had.

"Yes something burns! A fucking flaming arrow just landed on me. What the hell do you think?" she said, touching her stomach. She hesitated, feeling something unfamiliar on her stomach, something she hadn't noticed before. There was a scar, she could feel, on the left side of her stomach, "What?"

"Let me--" Buffy said, reaching out to touch the girl's stomach. When she felt the scar, she sighed, "Oh, that," she said, as she sat back, "Well--" she looked at the other girls, "Move it!" she yelled, "Go to the next one. It's about twenty feet north! Get there," when they were all gone, she looked back to Kennedy, "I'm sorry about that, by the way," she said, gesturing towards the girl's scar. She looked out on the field, "I know you don't know what happened, but--but I have to say it anyways.'

Kennedy reached behind herself, touching her back, and also feeling a scar, "A knife wound?" she wondered, aloud.

"I don't know how," Buffy said, as she crouched, and prepared to get out of the bunker, "But we moved past it--Faith and I did. She somehow forgave me--I'm not sure how anyone can forgive something like that, but she did it, and--If someone would have…to Dawn--"

"Hey," she said, cutting her off, "Whatever it is, I don't know about it, so…you don't have to apologize."

"You won't be saying that forever, I'm sure," she looked around, "Okay, get ready," she stood up quickly, pulling Kennedy up with her, and started to take off. But then she stopped, seeing that the light was focusing on them--the bright spot light Kennedy had seen when had been with Dawn-- "What--?" she looked at Kennedy, seeing a black mark on her shirt, made form paint, "Are kidding me?"

Kennedy looked at the paint, "What is it?"

Buffy sighed, "Torpedo--ground one," she looked around, "All right--Good job tonight, girls," she said, as they all came out of their hiding places, or stepped out of their position, "We only lost one tonight, and she doesn't really count."

Kennedy watched all of them, as lights came on--field lights, like from a football field--and revealed to her just how many there were--hundreds. Some of them walked past her, armed with bows and arrows, and it clicked, "They were firing them."

"Yeah--slayer training," Buffy said, again. The spot light landed on them again, and Buffy put a hand over her eyes, looking up, "She's watching us."

"Who?" Kennedy said, following the slayers gaze. There was a large mansion like building a few feet away, and at one of the windows--the one the spotlight seemed to be shining from--there was a figure, covered in shadows, but she knew who it was, "I am here, after all," Kennedy said, under her breath.

"Come on," Buffy said, as she started to walk, "I'm sure she wants to see you."

As she took her first step, she got that feeling again. The one she had got before the sound of an explosion made her eyes fly open; before she had lost sight of the Buffy in the reality from Cordelia's wish. She tried to fight it--to stop it from happening, but she couldn't do it. It was too late. Her surroundings went dark for a moment, and then she found herself gasping for air, as she came to on Giles' couch.

"You're awake," the man said, rising from his desk.

She sat up, and clinched her fists, "Damn it!" Now more than ever, she felt that need to do what she had said she would do. She couldn't explain it really, but she could feel it pulling her--tugging at her heart, "I have to go," she said, as she got to her feet, "Where's Buffy?" she asked, thinking of what she had just seen--what she had been shown.

"She's gone to fight the Master," Giles answered, "I'm guessing that's where you're going, too."

Kennedy put her hand to her head, "I have someone else to kill in mind," she walked over to pick up her crossbow by the door, "Do you have any idea what it's like to see someone you love become something you'd never thought they'd become? How hard it is to see them when they're a--monster? It's like having the weight of the whole world put on your shoulders. You know it's not them--You can see it in their eyes; hear it in their voice, but you still love them. The only difference in this kind of love, is that you're willing to kill them for it--so they won't have to suffer anymore, dying within a hollow shell. That's why I'm leaving, Giles. To set her free," she opened the door, "You fix this."

He nodded, "I'll do my best."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, people that's all--Yes, I know that's not the end of the episode, but this is where I'm stopping. The last part of the chapter is so important--so huge--that I'm putting it in its own chapter, and giving it it's own separate posting--about this time tomorrow (it's about 3:00 AM). I know that you're all probably confused as hell--but I also know that some of you just figured out something very important, and are wondering how exactly I'm changing the original plot. In the next, and final part of the chapter--We get some background info on alternate (wish alternate) Buffy, and how she knows Faith--Giles calls on Anyanka to fix the world--And, Kennedy goes after Vampire Willow only to have herself seeing the one person who could convince her to change her mind about killing her, in the final reality break. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading, and please review this part, too. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typo's…you saw the time above, right? Doesn't that explain it all?


	24. Everything In The Same final

First, If I'm late…oops. If I'm on time…good. If I'm early…hell yes! I'm not sure yet, 'cause I haven't started typing, because I had to do some rearranging with the scenes, so I didn't have 50 tiny scenes.. Hopefully, I'm early. Back to business…thanks to everyone for reviewing, and for reading in general--You're all awesome. Thanks to El, for saying that part 2 was awesome, I really appreciate it, and I hope all of you will think this last part is awesome as well. It's short (er than the last one), I know, because there was only about fifteen minutes left in the episode, and most of the scenes were three liners, or no liners, so yeah…of course I have extended one in particular that I think you guys will find very interesting…I think the title will also make sense…more than it probably does already, by the end of this chapter. Thanks again for reading, and please review.-ThomThom

Chapter Fifteen: Everything In It's Right Place/ The Same, But Different (final)

Buffy walked into the club only to see that it was quiet and empty. She walked past the pool tables, and cages--one of them with a dead man in it, hoping that she'd find some sign of where the Master had gone too. Killing was all she knew, all she was good at, so killing a master--something with power--brought excitement to her. It helped keep her focused on what she was born to do, and not get distracted by the things that normal people indulged in--Family; friends; love, all of that had been pushed aside years before, and she wasn't going to let that Kennedy girl bring it all back up, or Giles either. No, she was going to do what she always did; kill and move on. Go out searching for the next big thing, and take it down, then start all over again.

She walked down some stairs, into an even darker area, and found herself looking at, what resembled, a jail cell. There was a man in it, chained and leaning against a wall, panting, and gasping. She thought about getting him out, of rescuing him, but changed her mind, thinking he'd only get in the way, anyways.

"Buffy," Angel called, getting the girl to stop, "Buffy Summers," she turned to look at him, and noted all the differences in the girl he was looking at, and the girl he remembered--the scar; the style of clothing; the way she wore her hair; the way she walked; the lack of compassion--but there was still her scent. That was still the same, "It's you," he said, "I mean…you don't remember. How could you."

She looked him over, trying to see if she recognized him at all, "How did you know my name?" she asked.

"I waited. I waited here for you. But you never--I was supposed to help you."

She rolled her eyes, and scuffed, "You were gonna help me," she said, seeing what state he was in--chains not included. He seemed delusional, diseased--by the way he was shaking. He didn't seem to be the helpful type.

"The Master rose," he continued, "He let me live…to punish me. I kept hoping maybe you'd come. My destiny.

Buffy laughed, putting her hands on her hips, "Is this a get-in-my-pants thing? You guys in Sunnydale talk like I'm the Second Coming."

"I'm sorry. I just meant--"

"Look," she waved her hands, telling him to stop, "I don't have time for stories. Where's the Master?" she asked, getting back to business. She hated being around weak people, it bothered her beyond explanation. All they did was mope, and whine, as they hoped for better things to come in the future--That optimism that she no longer had, spewing with their every word, usual having something to do with her.

"They're at his factory," he thought about what Willow--the one he had grown used to, despite the one he had known before--had said to him, "It starts tonight."

She frowned, "Factory?"

"I--" he started to move, grunting at the pain it caused, "I can take you there," he said, hoping that she'd let him go with her.

She thought about it for a second, almost telling him to just tell her the way; that she'd find it on her own, but then decided to just let him show her. It would be quicker that way. She kicked the cell door open, catching it as it started to swing back, and then bent down to unchain him--unbeknownst to her, the cross at her neck was getting a little close, making him jump. Seeing that, she stood up, and laughed, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" she said, walking out of the cell.

"Wait!" he called, "I won't hurt you."

She turned around, angrily, "No. you'll leave that to your Master."

"You don't believe I want to help you?" he asked, getting to his feet. He opened his shirt, showing her his wounds--the fresh burns swollen, and making bubbles on his flesh, "Believe I want him dead."

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Kennedy walked up to the factory slowly. On the way to The Bronze, she had spotted a group of vampires going in a different direction, and figured that they were probably going where she needed to go. She just had this feeling, especially after seeing so many of them walking together, and so caught up in what they were saying that they didn't even notice her following them. Once she saw where they were headed, it made sense to her--the factory had always been a vampire attraction--she had been reminded of that a few weeks before. When the vampires went inside, passing one vampire that was standing at the door, for what she assumed to be security purposes, she readied herself for what she was about to do. She was walking into a death trap, knowing that unless Giles got the job done, or Buffy was on the way there, too--despite their introduction--she wasn't going to see daylight ever again. But, she was willing to take that chance.

She looked down at the crossbow in her hands, "If I take you, they'll think something's up," she thought, as she looked over at the vampire at the door; a guy, about average height, slightly built, of course wearing leather. The vampires, she knew, in the reality in was stronger, but there was no way she was going to let one of them stop her, "I just need one shot," she thought to herself. Then, she took a deep breath, and walked out of the shadows.

"Hey," the vampire said, spotting her, "Who are you?"

"Innocent Bystander, nice to meet you," she lifted her crossbow, and shot him through the heart, not stopping to weight for his dust to settle, as she continued. A pack of cigarettes hit the ground, along with a lighter, catching her attention. She picked them up, took a cigarette out, and lit it, thinking of Faith as she did, then she walked in to see the backs of a group of vamps all standing around, and looking at whoever was talking--but she couldn't quite see who it was.

"And now behold," the Master said, as he stood up on a platform, gesturing towards the machine that was going to change the way vampires lived--or didn't live. Up on the platform, to his left of him was Willow and Xander, and on his right there were two other vampires--his guards; his strongest followers, "the technical wonder which is about to alter the very fabric of our society. Some have argued," he said, gesturing towards all of the humans standing inside a large cell, staring out at him, as he spoke, "that such an advancement goes against our nature. The claim that death is our art. I say to them--Well, I don't say anything to them because I kill them. Undeniably we are the world's superior race. Yet we have always been too parochial," he took a few steps forward, "too bound by the mindless routine of the predator. Hunt and kill, hunt and kill. Titillating? Yes. Practical? Hardly. Meanwhile, the humans, with their plebian minds…have brought us a truly demonic concept--mass production!"

"Yeah!" the crowd cheered.

"We really are living in a golden age," Xander said, with a nod.

Willow on the other hand, was thinking a little different. She knew the Masters plan, and how he was supposedly going to change their undead lives forever--And it bored her. The 'hunt and kill' was what she loved about being what she was. To sit around and watch a machine do something without the aggression; the anticipation; the chase of the things she loved most didn't sound like something great to her. It was truly a human idea, like he had said. Mass production was not in her interest at all--she was not a human, so why would she hope to be like one. Those days--literally--were over. But, she stood there, staring out at the masses of vampires she considered to be idiots, along with the one that stood beside her--the one that bowed to the Masters every word, knowing that it wasn't the time for her to go against him. That would have to wait.

Kennedy began to make her way through the crowd, moving just as the group she had followed--their direct path, as they moved forward. They were so wrapped up in the Masters words that they hadn't noticed the smell of her blood pumping through her veins, or the crossbow she held as low as possible, because all of their eyes were directed up, towards the master, "Where are you, Willow?" she wondered, looking in the crowd around her.

"That smell," Willow thought, instantly. She scanned the crowd, focusing her eyes, and ears--then, she spotted her; heard her heart beat. Of course, no one else knew. They were too wrapped up in drooling over what they were being told. But, she wasn't, "Hello," she thought, following the girl's movements. She wanted to jump into the crowd; to grab the girl then, and there, but if she knew making any sudden movements would draw attention to the girl, and all of the other vamps would get to her first; devouring what she craved before she could even get a taste. When the girl finally looked up at her, she smiled, shaking her head slightly when she spotted the crossbow, "Not yet," she thought. Then she mouthed, "Wait."

Seeing what the vampire had said, Kennedy nodded. She knew what the vampire wanted--a fight, but only when she knew that no one would interfere; when they were alone. The cockiness of her smile--so unlike the Willow she knew--made her grip the crossbow harder. She was ready. Beyond ready, really--to do what she felt she needed to do.

Oz, who was in the cage, along with Larry, and bunch of other people the vampires had rounded up, followed the redhead vampires gaze into the crowd, and spotted Kennedy, "Larry," he whispered. He gestured towards Kennedy, "She's here, so maybe Giles has something."

"Or," Larry said, noticing the looks being exchanged between her and the vampire she was staring at, "she's on a revenge trip, and isn't thinking about saving us at all."

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Giles had finally found what he needed, and was gathering all the things he needed for the spell. All of his books were out on his desk, as well as a bowl like object, and the ingredients he had already gathered. It had taken him a while, but after going through a countless about of books, thinking about what Cordelia had said, and forcing himself to remember some things he had learned in the council, he finally knew what to look for--a summoning spell. It was the only way he'd be able to come close to finding out what the demon's power source was, and though it was risky, he planned to do everything he could do change the world back into whatever it was supposed to be.

"O…Anyanka…" he began, throwing more of the ingredients in, as he spoke, "I beseech thee," he turned the page of one of the books, and then went back to throwing ingredients in, "Um…In the name of all women scorned…come before me," he stood there, looking around for a moment--first seeing nothing, but then he spotted her. She was standing in one of the corners of the room, to the left of him, covered in shadows, but he could still make out her face; her robe; her necklace, "Oh," he said, taken aback.

She walked towards him, "Do you have any idea," she said, in her cracked, voice, "what I do to a man who uses that spell to summon me?"

He took steps back, "Cordelia Chase--What did she wish for?" he asked.

Anyanka walked past his desk, getting closer to him, "I had no idea her wish would be so exciting. Brave new world. I hope she likes it."

"You're gonna change it back," he walked around her, making sure that he wasn't cornered, "I'm not afraid of you. You power lies in the wishing."

Suddenly, she had him by the throat, and had him slammed against a wall, "Wrong!"

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Angel watched as her walk, all sorts of questions running through his mind, but he didn't know how to ask them. Or, really, he didn't know how to ask without aggravating her. He noticed that she was easily agitated, annoyed simply presence. Something, he listed as another difference.

She turned to him, stopping suddenly, "Can you stop with the staring? If you have something to say, just say it," she said, angrily.

"I-I…It's nothing," he managed. They started to walk again, and he went back to thinking. Wondering what her life was like. How she had become the person she was; so distant, and angry. But, she didn't seem like the one for life telling sit downs, so he started simple, "H-how'd you get the scar?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, and sighed, "An accident a few years back," it was the second time that night that her past had been brought up--the second time 'she' had been brought up, and this time, her mind didn't want to just leave it there. It wasn't like the vampire beside her matter, she was going to kill him anyways, as soon as she took care of the master. He was a vampire--and she was a vampire slayer. So, she decided to just talk--finally talk, "About four years ago, before I got called or whatever, I went with my watcher to some sort of council get together--the first and last one I ever went to--and I, uh, met another potential slayer while I was there. We ended up training together--becoming friends…We were really close," she was silent for a moment. Just silent, as she thought back. Then, she continued, "I get called and the council decides to move me to a different location--It was far away from her…I didn't want to go…She didn't want me to go--eventually, we took off," she laughed, "Thinking we'd be able to make it on our own--Me being a slayer in all. If we ever got into some trouble, I could take care of it. I mean, we had tried to do the whole…um, moving on thing, but it hadn't worked out," she backtracked, "And she started to find a way to get to where I was--But when they found out that we were--"

"Oh," he said, quietly, realizing what she was saying.

She looked at him, trying to read him; to figure out what he meant by saying 'oh', but saw nothing. Nothing that would have made her kill him then and there, so she looked forward, and kept going, "That's why we took off," she smiled, "She had this whole idea that we could be like superheroes. You know, with the hidden identity, and the secret hide out…that we didn't have--Unless you call an abandoned warehouse, that you live in, a secret hide out. I told her that I didn't want to be a slayer anymore, but she kept saying, 'You can do so much good' over and over, so I gave in. It was fine for a while. We would steal anything we needed…she was good at that, and since we were the ones saving the world, we figured we were entitled to anything we wanted anyways," she stopped smiling, and looked down, "One night, we were out, and we stumbled into a nest--A nest of vampires," she touched her scar, "There was too many of them. Two of them kept me busy, while the rest of them grabbed her…pulling her further and further…until I could barely see her…barely he her screaming my name," she wiped away the tears before they could fall, not wanting to let him see them--not one of them, "I yelled for her to hold on. That I would save her. But we both knew it was too late. We knew what she would become--A monster. I kept fighting and fighting; I couldn't stop…not until I heard her that last time--When she yelled for me to run; to leave her there," she looked up, seeing that the factory was in sight, "A couple nights later, she came to me--Well, something that looked like me--And I killed her."

"You went back to the council," he assumed.

She nodded, "And vowed to fight till the day that I died."

"Is that why you're here?" he asked, knowing that she'd understand what he was implying.

"No," she said, as they reached a side door to the factory. They walked in slowly, seeing no one, until they were far in, peeking at the large group of vampires as they listened to the Master speak. Then, she spotted someone familiar in the crowd; the girl that had been at Giles' house, "I'm here because two girls told a guy--who used to be a watcher--that I was meant to be here. One of them is standing over there," she gestured, "Seeing that the Master is here, I'm thinking she was right. This is exactly where I belong."

He looked over at the girl that Buffy had gestured to, and recognized her instantly--It was Kennedy. Then, something came to him, "What was her name?" he asked, "The girl you--the girl you knew."

She took her eyes off of the crowd, looking at him, with a frown on her face. Then, she turned back, "Faith."

"Isn't it ironic then," he said, looking back over at Kennedy, "that she'd be here?"

"Who?" she asked, as she concentrated on figuring out how she was going to get to the Master.

"Kennedy."

"Sure, whatever."

He realized that he had lost her; that she was wrapped up in killing the Master, so he too turned his attention to the ancient Vampire, who was talking, with his hands slightly raised as usual, "Bring on the first," he said.

Two vampires went over to the cage, telling the humans to move back, and opened the door, "You!" one of them said, pointing to a girl.

It was one that Kennedy recognized as one of Harmony's groupies, as she took her eyes off of Willow for an instant. Then, she turned her attention back to who she had come to kill, ignoring the urge to help the girl who was screaming for the two vampires to let her go, until she was silenced by a stun gun like device. They put her on a large, metal trey that was on top of something that resembled an assembly line, pushed a button, and the machine turned on. The trey moved, going towards the main part of the machine--the part where drainers, with long needed tips, were--Then, another button was pushed, and the needles lowered towards her, eventually puncturing her skin, and starting to drain her dry.

"She's still alive, you see," the Master said, excitedly, "for the freshness."

Angel looked to Buffy, "What's the plan?"

"Don't fall on this," she said, handing him a stake, without taking her eyes off the Master.

"What's Kennedy going to do?" he asked, wanting the full plan.

She started to move forward, going through the unknowing crowd, "Who's Kennedy?" she asked, "The girl from Giles'? Why would I know what she's going to do?" she asked, as they reached the front of the crowd.

"Aren't you working together?" he asked. He looked up at Willow, and followed her gaze through the crowd--landing on Kennedy.

"Why would we be working together," she lifted her crossbow, and aimed.

"Because…she's Faith's sister."

She turned her head away, as she pulled the trigger, confused by what she heard. When she looked back, she saw that the Master had pulled one of the vamps on stage in front of him, blocking her sot, "Damn it!" she said, angrily. She took the stake that she had gave to him, "Faith didn't have a sister," she said, over the loud, moving crowd--her shot had stirred them.

Unable to help but overhear, Kennedy also took her eyes off of her target, looking over at Buffy, "What?" she frowned, "Angel?"

"Uh-oh. Puppy got out," Willow said, looking to see what Kennedy was looking at. Her and Xander jumped off of the stage, as the humans forced their way out of the cage they had been locked in, and the room went into chaos, "See," she said, making her way through the room, pushing people aside, "this is fun."

Buffy also started to make her move, taking out the vampires who tried to stop her from getting to the Master, who had yet to get down from the platform. She fought hard, kicking, and punching each of them with on one thing on her mind--One person. Sending them all flying with a bit of her anger, and hope for revenge. She knew that killing the Master wouldn't kill all vampires, but his title--his high status--made her want to take him, and him alone. He had followers. Vampires that bowed down to him; that served him, and she wanted to take down their leader.

Angel, who had also began to fight, saw Xander heading towards Buffy, who was fighting two vamps already, with the arrow she had fired at the Master--which had hit him instead--in his hand, and rushed towards him, "Buffy look out!" he said, stepping in between them. The arrow plunged into his chest, and he knew it was over. He turned to her, reaching out, as he turned to dust, "Buffy."

The Master put his hands on the stair rails and glided down, as he watched the slayer--he could feel that she was the slayer--make her way towards him, staking Xander as she did. Both of them pushed through the crowd of people--Him angered by the fact that she had interrupted, and that all of the humans were either escaping, or being killed--Her angered by the fact that he existed.

"I hadn't thought we'd meet so soon," he said, as he walked up to her.

She looked up at him, no fear in her eyes at all, "Funny 'cause I feel like I've been waiting for this my whole life."

Kennedy had seen her coming, as soon as she had jumped off of the stage, and into the crowd, but when she had spotted Oz, and saw that he needed help, she couldn't stop herself from going to him. She gave killed the vampire that had him, and then gave him her crossbow, "Protect yourself. I'll be--" suddenly, an arm was around her throat, pulling her backwards. All she could see was Oz being surrounded, but she knew who was pulling her.

"Did you miss me?" she asked, as she pulled, "I was getting bored up there, until I saw you."

She lifted her arm, and elbowed the vampire in the stomach hard, getting her to let go, "Sorry, I didn't really miss you," she said, getting into a fighting stance.

"When this is over," Willow said, as she stepped forward, "I don't think I'll ever be bored again--Not with someone like you around," she threw a punch, but it was blocked, "This only makes me want you more, you know?" she threw another one, it getting blocked too, making her smile harder, "This is gonna be fun. I can tell," she said, as she kicked the girl in the chest.

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Anyanka looked up at the man, her hand still around his throat, "This is the real world now," she said, squeezing tighter, "This is the world we made. Isn't it wonderful? The other one being here was a shock to me, at first, but then it got even more exciting. The chaos; the fear; the countless deaths. All of it is perfect--Don't you realize, this is what you humans are, what you cause?"

He looked down, noticing that the necklace around her throat was glowing, and grabbed it from around her neck, catching her by surprise. When she let him go, he hit her hard across the face, and ran over to his desk, pushing everything off of it, and setting the necklace down.

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Kennedy, now bleeding from various places, and breathing heavily, stood up slowly, stumbling a bit as she did. She looked at the redhead in front of her, seeing bleeding wounds on her face as well, but it was obvious that compared to her injuries, they were nothing. She was losing, and she knew it. she didn't even have anything in her hands that could finish the job, but she wasn't going to give up. Somehow, she was going to take her down, even if she died in the process.

"Don't stop now," Willow smiled, "I thought we were just getting started," she backhanded the girl, making her fall to one knee, as blood flew from her mouth, "I guess not, though. Don't worry, we'll still have this much fun when you're at my side."

Oz saw Kennedy, and the vampire she was fighting, "Kennedy!" he called, getting her attention. When she turned to him, he threw her the crossbow she had given him, "Come on, catch it," he mumbled, as it flew towards her.

She did catch it, and as soon as it touched her hand, she turned it and pointed it up at Willow--exactly at her still beating heart. Blood ran down her forehead, making her close her left eye, but the other one, it stayed on her, "What were you saying."

Willow smiled, "Come on," she encouraged, "Pull the trigger."

Just as she started to squeeze the trigger, she got that feeling again--Her world started to spin. She shut her eyes tightly, and waited for it to stop, once again upset by its timing. It was in her hands--the vampires life--right where she had wanted it, but the world had other plans. When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself standing in a room, staring at the back of someone, "With blinding hair," she said, letting her know she was in the room, but as usual, she already knew.

"You've been causing a little bit of a ruckus, from what they tell me," she said, without turning to look at her. She waved her hands over her hair, turning it back to its red color--the color it used to be, "You can sit down. I'm sure you're tired," she said, gesturing towards the bed in the room. After a moment, she took a deep breath, and turned around, with a sad smile on her face, "Hi."

Kennedy smiled, "Hello, beautiful," she said, as she sat down, "I was wondering if I'd get to see you, or not," she watched her walk towards her, and then sit down across from her, "You know, I've seen you about three times, actually--Well, they looked you anyways."

"Three?" she questioned, "So Dawn was serious when she mentioned you saying something about hell?"

"Yeah, Cordelia made this wish--and now I'm in a reality where you're a vampire. Fun stuff," she laughed. She looked into Willow's green eyes, happy to see what the vampire lacked, "I missed you."

She pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight, "I missed you, too. You have no idea how much I've missed you. Seeing you every once in a while just isn't enough."

"I know," she paused, biting her lip, as she did, "That's why you should just let me stay here, forever."

Willow pulled back, "I can't do that, Kennedy. I don't have that kind of power," she took the girl's hands in her own, "This is all we can have…just these moments, and you know it. You feel it," she put her hand over the girl's heart, "right there, every time you come here. You feel it pulling you back…I can't even stop it. I wish I could, but…it's not meant to be this way. You're not supposed to be here."

Kennedy pulled her hand away, and waved Willow's off, "I'm really sick of hearing people say that to me--or hinting at it."

"I know, but, it's true. If you knew how much trouble I'd get in if someone in particular found out that I've been bringing you here--" she rolled her eyes, "Well, not trouble. But a really long lecture about messing with time and space is just as bad as any punishment out there," she smiled.

"Don't make jokes, I'm serious," she said, getting the woman to stop smiling. They sat in silence, only hearing the noise around them; the sound of footsteps above them; the sound of people talking in the hallway. That's when she thought about all of the things she had seen earlier, "What is this place?" she asked.

"I can't tell you that. It'll change things. Possibly in a bad way," she turned her head towards the door, feeling a presence coming towards it--someone that she knew wouldn't be happy to find Kennedy there, because this time it was her that had called Kennedy. The other times, it had been something else--time dealing with what was being done--but Kennedy being with her, at that very moment, that was her doing, and because of that, she knew that they wouldn't be happy--That they'd know. She looked at Kennedy, "You have to go."

Kennedy frowned, "What? No!"

"Whatever is going on--why you're not in the right place--I can get that taken care of. I can send you back to the reality you belong in, so don't worry. You just have to go, now--It'll take a few minutes to be fixed," she said, beginning to babble, "but it will be fixed, and you'll see her again--the one that's like me…is me, really."

"No! I don't want to go," she said, pulling the woman into her arms, "She's not you, she's--The only reason I'm with her--I don't love her…I love you."

"Kennedy," she said, wrapping her arms around her, and rubbing the back of her head, "We're the same, Kennedy. We are all the same," the doorknob turned, and she pulled away, having to pull hard to get out of the girl's grip, "You have to go. You have to--"

The door opened, "Willow," they said, their back turned as they pulled in a dolly with boxes on it, "I brought the books you…" they turned around, and trailed off, "Willow, you didn't--"

Kennedy gasped, "June," she stood up, and her world started to spin, "Not now," she said, angrily, but it didn't stop--It never did. She wanted to focus on the fact that she had seen June, but she couldn't focus on it. Instead, she kept hearing Willow's words echo in her head, 'We're the same, Kennedy. We are all the same,' kept replaying over and over. When it all stopped spinning, and she found herself holding that trigger once again, she didn't find herself wanting to pull it. In her head, there was now something that told her to do something completely different. She loosened her grip on it, first, and then just slump down onto her knees, "Do it," she whispered, as she looked down. When she saw that the vampire wasn't moving, she looked up at her, seeing something she hadn't seen before--something in her eyes, "Do it!"

She reached down, pulled the girl up by her shirt, stopping when they were face to face, "I know you…somehow."

Kennedy closed her eyes, "Do it."

Her face morphed, and she plunged her fangs into the girl's neck, growling as she did. As she sucked the blood from her, she pulled her closer to her; held her tighter, as her body slowly went limp. Then, she stopped. For some reason, she stopped. Confused by what she felt, she pulled back, letting her face go back to its more human look. She put her blood covered lips to the girl's ear, "I can't."

Kennedy's eyes opened, landing on Buffy fighting the master--losing the fight. She pulled back, and looked at the vampire, who held her, "Then, I will," she kissed her suddenly, knowing what she had to do. She had lost sight on who she was--not a fighter; not a revenge seeker--a protector. And, all around her, she heard the screams of people being slaughtered. She heard the impact of the Master's fist cracking Buffy's bones. She knew she head to stop it, and that unless she did it, she wouldn't have the strength to do it. When she felt her mouth open, she went for it--she bit the vampires tongue hard, instantly feeling the rush that its blood send coursing through her body. It was always Willow who gave her strength--this time was no different. She pulled back, and wiped her mouth, "Help me kill him."

Willow smiled, "That's all I've wanted to hear someone say all day."

They turned and walked towards him, Kennedy going into a run, with the crossbow in her hand, as she saw him turn Buffy around, and put his hands on her head to break her neck.

Right before he did it, Buffy looked directly at her, "I'm sorry--"

"No, Buffy!" she reached to catch the girl, barely making it before her body hit the ground.

Willow went to strike the Master, finally being able to go against him, but was stopped by two humans grabbing her by the shoulders, and pushing her back. She reached out, "Stop," she said, "Stupid humans," but it was too late, she felt it as it went through her back, "Kennedy!" she yelled.

Kennedy looked over, "Oz," she said, seeing it was him, "No!" she watched as Willow turned to dust.

"So she lied to me then," the Master said, looking down at the girl, "You're her aren't you? The girl who came with the one that they actually did kill?"

He hadn't seen it, and she knew it--She moved quickly; quicker than she had ever moved in her life--but she wasn't alive anymore…She moved just as fast as he had, when he snapped Buffy's neck, aiming exactly where she needed to. Then, she looked up at him--And pulled the trigger.

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Giles grabbed a small box, one that he knew was solid, and lifted it over the necklace, as Anyanka got to her feet, "You trusting fool! How do you know the other world is any better than this?"

He looked at her, and lifted his hand, "Because it has to be."

As his hand fell towards her necklace, Anyanka reached out, knowing it was all about to change, "No!"

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"I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale," Cordelia said, sincerely.

Anya turned towards them, "Done."

Cordelia looked over at the group, seeing them all sitting on a concrete bench, "That would be cool. No. wait. I wish Buffy Summers had never been born."

Anya frowned, "Done."

Kennedy laughed, "You're crazy. Do you know how messed up things would be if Buffy wasn't here? Who was it that was outside at The Bronze with you last--preventing you from getting you know what? Yeah, that was Buffy," she pat the girl on the shoulder, and walked away from them, hearing Cordelia keep saying things she wished would happen--one involving Willow waking up covered in monkey hair.

"Hey, Kennedy," said, with a smile.

"Hey," she looked at Willow, who was smiling up at her, "Hello, beautiful," she said, leaning down to give the girl a quick peck, "You're still coming to dinner, right?" she asked, as she sat down.

"Yeah, we were just talking about that actually," she said, with a smile, "Buffy thinks that her mom's going to let that girl that Dawn likes come, too. She's all upset about it."

"I am not upset," she protested, "And Dawn does not like her. She's unlikable--disgusting even."

Kennedy laughed, "Right," she spotted June walking out of the school, and over to Anya, something within her tugging at her, but she couldn't figure it out. Her mind kept reaching for it, but she couldn't grasp it, so she just turned back to listening to the gang, just as Giles approached, "Hey, Giles. You coming to dinner tonight, too. Joyce will be hosting," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Buffy frowned, "What's that supposed to mean? No, he's not coming, and stop with the eyebrow thing."

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Anya turned to walk away, rounding a corner quickly, only to come face to face with who she was trying to avoid, "June," she said, with a nervous laugh, "Funny seeing you here."

"Yeah. Funny," she said, in a flat tone.

"Look, I didn't know that the field around her was so unstable, okay? I mean, really--Who would have known. Now, I'm all powerless, and human--Can you fix it?" she asked, but the girl shook her head, "All you have to do is send me back a few minutes. Then, I'll leave, and you'll never see me again," still silent, "No? Okay, fine, but make it quick."

"That I can do," June said, as she turned to lead the ex-demon away from the school.

Anya sighed, "Can you just delete yourself, too, while you're at it. Knowing you only seems to get me in to trouble," she said, following her, "Honestly, I didn't know they were friends, or that you were doing this, again. You should send out a notice, or something. At least to us vengeance demons…so we'll no what part of the world is off limits, at whatever time. Not that I'll need to no now, 'cause I'm human. Are you sure you don't want to just--"

"Anyanka, shut up."

She nodded, "Okay."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

No, I'm late. Oh, so late…oops. Okay, well that's it. I hope that you guys liked it, and got the basic meaning of it, with some new questions, along with some questions answered--like perhaps you just figured out something June might have said to someone before about hair--Or maybe what Kennedy might have said to someone before they made things official--Perhaps. Anyways, in the next chapter--Tragedy strikes! Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typos…it's late.


	25. No Surprises Please

Hello, and welcome to this special birthday celebration chapter. No, it's not my birthday, though I wish it was 'cause then I'd be getting presents. It's a characters birthday. I'll get to which character in a moment. See, I hadn't planned on this chapter being a birthday kind of thing at all…of course there's more to it than it just being someone's birthday, but still…I mean, I am still me, meaning there has to be a lot of stuff going on . The point is, I had a point A and a point B, but somehow I ended up writing the layout down, and it ended up revolving (slightly revolving) around someone's birthday. There will be drama; there will be secrets; there will be blood (sorry just watched that again); and there will be lots of other things…including an introduction of a new character, who just happens to know someone that all of you love so much (cough). Anyways, I think it's going to be very entertaining, keeping up with the level of drama and suspense that I put in the last couple chapters, and I hope you guys really enjoy it. Oh, and it's Dawn's birthday…if that says anything (is anyone else laughing?). Um, yeah, enjoy, and tell me what you think. -ThomThom

P.S. I put an author's note up on the other site, the day before I posted this chapter. It gives some detail on the next couple of chapters, so I'm showing it to you guys, too:

An unexpected guest makes an appearance, making June's task difficult, and sending Kennedy further into a downward spiral that begins with a tragic loss. Faith finds clues to who June is, and gets some unsettling news about what's really going on. Willow finally thinks she's gotten through to Kennedy, only to find herself being pushed even further away, after the girl returns from a trip with Faith. Dawn has to deal with the fact that things never seem to be what they really are. Buffy worries about Faith being so 'involved' with June after some odd coincidences are revealed. And, Kennedy is shown what really happened the night her mother died.

It's going to be over a three chapter arc that all this goes on. The first introducing the guest, and sending Kennedy and Faith back home; the second showing what really happened the night Kennedy's mother died, and pushing her further away from everyone; the third one leading Faith towards the unknown, and Kennedy further into an unseen truth.

The first one's going to be very light at first, but as a whole the next three chapters are going to be very dark, and will start us on the downward trip that is this season, so be looking forward to that. I think that they're going to be really good, and I don't usually think so highly of my writing…but I'm thinking they're going to be awesome, and I hope you guys will think so too.

Chapter Sixteen: No Surprises (Please)

She had just fallen back asleep, after working out some last minute plans with Joyce, and dealing with the waking from yet another nightmare, when the doorbell rang, making her fall off the couch. For once she had happily given Dawn her room back so she didn't have to hear the girl, and her friend, up talking all night about all the drama surrounding the other kids at their school. The only problem with sleeping on the couch was the fact that she had found it impossible to keep the covers from falling onto the floor, and wrapping herself in them to prevent them from falling only made her feel like she was going to suffocate, so she had basically froze over night, and was only relieved from the winter chill when Joyce woke up and turned the air conditioning off, seeing herself that it was cold downstairs. Now, however, the good sleep she was finally able to get, was cut short by the sound of the doorbell, and the impact of her body hitting the floor.

Groaning, she sat up slowly, as the doorbell rang again. It wasn't until she heard both Buffy, and Dawn yell for someone to get the door, that she actually rushed to open it, "I got it. Shut the hell up," she yelled, as she walked over to the door, pulling her pajama pants up a little higher, so she wasn't walking on them. Her first instinct was to yell at whoever was ringing the doorbell, figuring that it was going to be some guy selling some random religion, but as soon as she saw who was at the door--or the back of their head as they turned to leave, more accurately--anger turned into confusion, "Did you need something?" she asked, getting the woman's attention.

The woman turned around and walked back up the steps she had started to descend, revealing that she was taller than the girl who had answered the door. There was a bright smile on her slender face that, along with her black hair that was pulled back into a bun--accept for what she left down for swooping bangs--accented her high cheek bones, and dark green eyes. She was wearing what looked like a pantsuit minus the jacket; black on black striped dress pants, a long sleeved white collared shirt that was buttoned at the wrists, but wasn't buttoned up to the collar, therefore tempting anyone to look at her barely hidden cleavage, and a tight black vest that showed just how slim she was. Her boots were black as well, slim and heeled, and her finger nails--which were only noticeable at the moment because she was holding a white coffee mug in her hands--were also black.

"Bonjour," she said, with a smooth voice, "Est-elle Leah ici?"

Kennedy scratched her head, and then smoothed her hair out, realizing how she must have looked. She laughed nervously, "Why did I skip French, again? Right, all the converting," she thought for a moment, "Um, sorry. Tu parlez anglais?" she asked, hoping that she hadn't just said something completely ridiculous. The woman laughed an impossibly beautiful laugh, making Kennedy laugh, uneasily, "I just said something really stupid, didn't I?"

"No," the woman smiled, "I'm sorry," she said, with a obvious French accent, but it wasn't harsh or hard, it was smooth, soothing even, "I'm just so used to, uh…knocking and speaking Français," she rolled her eyes, "I meant French."

"It's fine," she said, looking the woman over once again. It was strange, but she felt like she knew the woman in front of her. She just gave her the weirdest feeling that reminded her of someone who she couldn't quite make out in her mind. Everything about her screamed, 'You know her'; her voice; the way she moved--All of it, but she just couldn't figure it out, "Don't mean to be rude, but did you want something?" she asked.

"Right, you probably think I'm some weird older woman who knocks at the crack of dawn. I'm Isabel," she said, putting her hand out for the girl to shake, "Leah's mother," she added, seeing that the name didn't make the girl look any less confused.

"Oh, okay," she said, seeing the resemblance between the two of them; the natural laid back impression they gave; the swooping bangs; and both of them having oddly cool voices, "I think she's probably sleeping. Her and Dawn were up all night gossiping--Or Dawn was gossiping and Leah was laughing," she corrected, "Did you want me to give her a message, or something? I can do that."

The woman looked around, "No not really. I just want to make sure she is here, and not off into trouble at some random place," she turned back to the girl, "Are you Buffy?" she asked.

Kennedy laughed, slightly, "No. My name's Kennedy," she said, leaning on the door.

"Yes, okay. I'm sorry to wake you, then, Kennedy. It's just that Leah is not the most…well," she thought for a moment, trying to think of the word, but it wasn't coming, "She's not exactly an angel, let's say that. Finding out that she is actually spending time somewhere where I can actually even knock on the door, is," she gave a sigh of relief, and laughed, "Finally, I can keep track of her."

For some reason, Kennedy couldn't help but laugh as well along with the woman, while she leaned on the door and repeatedly messed with the doorknob, which she hadn't noticed until the woman looked down at her hand. She pictured herself as an obviously sleep deprived teenager, staring with blood shot eyes, and crazy hair, basically undressing the woman with her eyes--though she wasn't doing that at all. That's just how she assumed she looked.

"So she has been behaving, right?" the woman asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah," Kennedy shrugged, "There was that really inappropriate joke that she told that one time, but she made it past the bumpy part, and has settled in pretty nicely."

"That's nice. I am glad that the jokes didn't get her banned from your home. Sadly, I have to admit that she got that habit from me," she laughed.

Kennedy laughed, "Wow," she said, covering her mouth, "That's--Wow."

"Yes. See I am, uh, also the type to make people nervous by revealing that I am not too old to make sexual jokes," she rolled her eyes, "Despite what my own mother thinks. I have probably just embarrassed my daughter by saying all that, but oh well," she lifted her arm slight, shaking it to make her sleeve come down to look at her watch, but it wouldn't go back, "Do you mind…helping me?" she asked.

At first Kennedy didn't know what the woman meant, but when she figured it out, she moved quickly to help the woman with her sleeve. She unbuttoned it, and pulled it back slightly, so the woman could see what time it was--noticing how smooth the woman's wrists were--and then buttoned it back, once the woman said the time aloud.

"Thank you," she said, smiling yet again, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Kennedy," she said, offering her hand again.

Kennedy shook it, "Yeah, you too."

The woman turned, and started to descend the stairs again, but then stopped. She turned back around, having an expression that showed she was had forgotten something, "Oh, uh, sorry," she said, seeing that the girl was just about to close the door, "Do you have any sugar? We are out."

"We should have some," Kennedy said, moving aside to let the woman in, "You can come in, while I look," she offered. The woman nodded, and walked in, then Kennedy guided her into the kitchen, "You can sit down if you'd like," she said, as she put up all the junk food that they had eaten the night before that was splayed across the counter tops.

"Thank you," she sat down on a stool at the island, and watched the girl move about the kitchen, "Do you like Sunnydale?" she asked.

"Sure," she opened a cabinet, and moved some stuff around, swearing at Buffy in her mind for moving things around, "The people are okay, and it's sunny," she laughed, "I definitely couldn't live here forever, though. If I would have been here when I was younger, I'm sure I would have gone crazy," she said, kneeling down to look in the lower cabinets by the refrigerator, seeing that the sugar wasn't in the top ones.

"Leah said that Dawn has lived here for a while," the woman said, with a confused look.

Kennedy stood up, thinking for a moment, before she headed over to the pantry, "Uh, yeah, Dawn has, and so has Buffy, and Joyce--Ms. Summers--But I've only been here for about, I don't six or seven months, maybe a bit longer. I'm not sure."

"So you're not related to Dawn?" the woman asked.

"No, I'm not related to anyone here. Well, I have a sister that lives in Sunnydale too, but she doesn't live here with us. We're just friends of the family, really, but I kind of consider them to be my family, too. Just 'cause they're always there for me, and they put up with my slight rebellious streak," she laughed, "They're good people."

"That's good to know, since my daughter spends so much time here. She has told me the same thing; that you are all nice--I think she said that you were, uh, cool. And, uh, Buffy is weird. Ms. Summers is sweet. Dawn is funny," she nodded, "I guess that comes together as good people," she sat her mug down, and got up from her stool, "From how you have treated me, I will take her word on it."

Kennedy turned and watched the woman walk over to the top cabinet by the refrigerator, opening her mouth to question her, but stopping when the woman reached in, moved a few things around, and pulled out the bag of sugar. It wasn't that she didn't still have a question to ask--no, she wanted to ask one more than ever--but, she was struck speechless.

The woman smiled, "I saw you push it aside, while you were looking," she looked around, "Do you have a--" she looked down, and mumbled, "cuillère," then she looked up, "A spoon," still silent, the girl brought her over a spoon, which she thanked her for. Then, she walked over and put a teaspoon of sugar in her coffee, stirred it, and then put the sugar back in the cabinet, and the spoon in the sink, "Thank you. I'll go and get us some sugar from the store, later," she walked up to Kennedy, too her hands in her own, and kissed both of her cheeks, "Again, it was nice to meet you. I will come back for the birthday party to give Leah the gift she bought. I guess you could tell her that."

"Okay," was all she could manage, as the woman exited the kitchen, and then the house. After a moment, Kennedy went over to the cabinet, again, "I could have sworn--"

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Faith walked out of the restroom, already in some shorts in a tank, drying her hair with a towel. She walked past her bed, throwing the towel on it as she did, and picked up her pack of cigarettes off the dresser, only to find it empty, "Shit," she said, throwing the pack into the trashcan that she had put next to the bed. On the bed was the book that she had taken from June, which opened as she threw away the cigarette carton, "Great, what do you want?" she asked, walking over to it. She read it, "You know what? I'm sick of everyone ridin' my ass about smoking…No, I don't give a shit what anyone thinks…because, I--No, no one likes to always here the same shit over and over," she walked back into the restroom, ignoring the fact that words were continuing to appear on the page, "You know the only reason I haven't set your ass on fire yet is 'cause I'm waiting for you to explain what you said about my sister. You know that little thing about her dying," she walked back over to see its response only to see that it was erasing itself, "Hey, don't do that. You have something to say, don't go erasing it when I come to read it--No, I'm not going to do something about it," she rolled her eyes, "You're a pain in the ass."

"Many people have said that about you."

She huffed, "You can tell them to go fuck themselves," she sat down, "Do you know how stupid I feel, talking to a book like this? I bet the hookers next door think I'm nuts…They can't be nothin' but hookers, wearing stuff like that--I do not dress like them," she said, seeing that it made a comment about her clothing, "I'm not into six inch heels, for one thing. Look, I know that you said you'd tell me in time, but I'm really going to need you to explain what you said…like, now. Now, would be nice, and not just some of the things you've said, either. All of it. The thing about June not being strong enough--strong enough for what; the thing about Kennedy going crazy, and not to mention the part where you said she'd die unless I took you; the thing about my destiny; and--"

"The thing about one of the others being the cause of you sister's death," a moment, "I understand that you are in a rush to know about all of the things that I have mentioned, but you have to be patient. Patience is the key to all of this. It is even what prevents the truth from being seen. Not having patience is the key to unleashing a chaos that will destroy everything around you. If you're not patient…you'll never know the answers to any of your questions."

"That's great, so you're not going to tell me today, either," she sighed, "I'm gonna set you on fire. Yep, that's what I'm gonna do. Then, I'm gonna track June down and get her to tell me what the fuck is going on."

"And you think she'll tell you? That she even knows, herself?"

"She has to at least know what the fuck you are, and whether you're full of shit, or not," she said, reaching over and closing the book, but it just flew back open, "If you're not gonna tell me anything that I need to know, then just don't say anything at all. I'm not in the mood to be insulted anyways."

"I will tell you something you need to know."

"Yeah, and what is that? That I need more cigarettes? 'Cause I already know that, and--" she read the next line, and frowned, "Are you serious? Now?" she put the book under the covers, and sat back against her pillows, trying to look like she was just lounging around, as usual. Then, she looked around, and waited for the girl to just appear in the room suddenly, like the book had said, but she saw something different instead.

Instead of just appearing with no sort of warning, June made more of a dramatic entrance by making some papers--which Faith had jotted down things the book had told her on--fly around the room, and then appearing, walking towards the bed, "Where's the book?" she asked, through gritted teeth.

"I'm not really a reader, so--"

"Don't screw with me, Faith," she cut in, "Give me the damn book, now."

It was weird to see the girl as upset as she was--No, not upset. She was furious. Like the most important thing in the world had been taken away from her, which made Faith wonder just how important the 'book' was. Was what it had told her really true? Did it know all the things it claimed to know? There was no way that it could be just a complete flop with the way June was acting; it had to mean something--be something, and Faith wanted to know what. She just had a feeling that June wouldn't be the one to tell her.

"Look, June, I don't really know what's goin' on with you, but I really don't know what book you're talking about," she said, as easily as she possibly could, "Maybe you're just gettin' ahead of yourself, thinkin' I took something from you."

June stepped forward, "Are we really going to do this?" she asked, knowing the slayer would understand what she meant; that her next step would probably result in them fighting, "Just give me the book, Faith. I don't want to hurt you."

Faith stood up, "Oh, so now you're threatening me. That's a big change of character from the usual flirting, but I can get used to it, too--If it comes to that," she said, also knowing that she was being understood, "Seeing that we're not the best of friends anyways. Not anymore."

"Faith, I'm warning you--"

"Yeah, I got that a second ago. Now, I'm warning you. Leave. Now."

June sighed, "Faith, I really, really don't want to do this. You have no clue how much I don't want to do this, with you. You know how I feel about you--How much I care about you, but--"

"Oh, so, now we're spreadin' the love again?" she asked, "Here I thought we were about to throw down."

"No, I'm trying to get you to give it to me, so I won't have to take it from you, because if I have to take it--You don't stand a chance against me, Faith," she said, getting to the point. She knew that if they started to fight there'd be no competition whatsoever, because she'd fight with everything she had to get that book back. The slayer would be down before she could manage to take her next breath, "Now, just give me the book," she demanded, as she walked over to her, making sure to lock eyes with her.

Faith wanted to step back. For some reason, she wanted to step back, but she knew that she'd only hit the wall behind her; that there was no where to go. The girl had power, she knew that, and so she didn't want to fight her--Not because she though she'd lose, but because she knew that she'd have to fight her to the death, and she wasn't sure she wanted to do that over a book…she wasn't sure she could bring herself to it, "What makes you think I have this book, anyways?"

"What makes you think I wasn't watching you, when you took it?" her next step was quick. So quick that it took the slayer by surprise, and made her stumble and hit the wall behind her. She pinned the girl in her place, putting her forearm against her chest, and pushing just enough to make sure that Faith wouldn't be able to make any sudden movements, "I know that it has probably been telling you things--Things that you don't understand, but I need it back, okay? I don't just want it back--I need it back. Don't make me look inside you to find it. I don't like to invade people like that."

Faith lurched forward, trying to push the girl away from her, but it didn't work. Instead of getting control of the situation, she was slammed back against the wall, knocking all the breath out of her lungs, and June's arm slid from her chest to just below her throat. She lifted her hands to the girl's side and tried to push her away, but she didn't budge, so she moved to her shoulders and pushed, but still she didn't budge. It was like pushing a brick wall, but even that couldn't really describe it, because Faith could get through a brick wall--It would take a minute, but still.

"I'm sorry," June said, looking down for a moment, "I have know choice."

When the girl looked up at her, her eyes--usually bright blue--were black, and she was saying something Faith couldn't understand, in a deeper warped voice, "What--?" Faith's head went back suddenly, as a sharp pain made it through her head, along with the sound of a loud squeal. It was like someone had cracked open her skull, and were digging their finger around her brain; pushing, and grabbing, and pulling. But it was quick, despite how it felt--It was quick. The next thing she knew, she was falling to the ground, and June was stepping away from her, "What--?"

"I'm sorry," she said, panting. She reached over onto the bed, pulled back the covers, and grabbed the book, "I wish I could tell you. I wish--" the book opened in her hands, and she read it quickly in her head, "But--" more words--she read quickly, then she looked at Faith for a moment--her eyes turning back to their usual bright blue, "Fine," she nodded. She threw the book back on the bed, and then turned to leave, "You protect this with your life, got it?" she said, angrily. Then she was gone.

Faith sighed in relief, having been holding her breath since the moment she hit the ground. She closed her eyes, and put her hands to her face, pulling her knees up as she did. After just sitting there for a moment, she got on her knees and went over to her bed, hearing the pages of the book turn--

"A few hours from now, you will go to her. You will apologize for taking me, and hand me to her. Then, you will ask questions. She will get mad--you will apologize again, for everything that you've done. After you've had a lighter conversation, you will ask her to go to the party, and that will lead you to the answers you seek."

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Buffy walked into the kitchen to see that Kennedy was already awake, to her surprise, "Hey, you're up already?" she asked, as she got a bowl out of one of the cabinets, "I thought you'd be out for a while, seeing that you actually had to deal with Dawn and Leah for so long last night."

"I thought about staying up with them, but then they got to gossiping, and I made my way to the couch," she handed Buffy the box of cereal she knew the slayer wanted, and then sat down on a stool, "So, I was thinking, since you don't have a patrolling partner at the moment, that maybe we could go tonight. After the party, of course."

"Really?" she asked, surprised that Kennedy was offering to tag along. It wasn't that Kennedy wasn't capable, or anything, it was just that they never patrolled together--Not since back when Spike and Druscilla were around, and even then Faith was there, too. Since Kennedy had come back, she hadn't really been doing any fighting evil stuff, minus that incident with the crazy jealous boyfriend, that just happened to be downing experimental drugs, "You'd really do that?"

"Sure," she shrugged, "I could use the workout, anyways. Plus," she smiled, "it'll be like bonding time with my girlfriend's best friend. I hear that it's good to be on their good side, just incase there's any sort of mishap."

"Mishap?" Buffy frowned. She went over to the refrigerator and took out the carton of milk, "What kind of mishap? Why would there be a mishap?" she asked.

"Well," Kennedy said, mischievously, "Sit down and I'll tell all about it," she pat the stool next to her, and waited for the slayer to sit down, laughing at the look she was giving her.

"Tell me about this hypothetical mishap," the blonde said, as she started to eat her cereal.

"So this morning--I'm pretty sure I met the sexiest woman alive, who just also happened to be the weirdest, and creepiest woman alive, too," she added, thinking back to how the woman had acted. The jokes; the questions; the sugar; the obvious way of trying to make conversation--that Kennedy hadn't seen until the woman was gone.

"You're not talking about my mom are you?" Buffy asked.

Kennedy laughed, "No, but I did see her this morning, too. She said to get her something else."

"Seriously?" Buffy asked, pouting, "Fine," she said, getting over it, "Tell me about this woman, so I can decide whether I want to beat you up for mentally undressing her."

"I did not--" she rolled her eyes, "Anyways, so--Leah's mother stopped by this morning."

"Oh, really? What does that I have to do with--Oh, no, you have to be kidding me. Kennedy, seriously?"

"Uh uh, you have not seen this woman, or heard her talk--in French or English. When I heard the doorbell ring this morning--"

"That's who it was? I thought it would be some guy selling some random religion."

"Exactly what I thought, too. And, I would have still that thought that--because she was all professional looking--but since she started speaking French to me, I figured not. I mean, I doubt they'd send someone who didn't speak English to conform--Well, she did speak English too," she shook her head, "The point is, this woman is like walking sex…a sex goddess."

"Wouldn't labeling her that require you actually having sex with her?" Dawn asked, as she walked into the kitchen, still in her pajamas as well--which consisted of shorts and a shirt, "Who are we talking about?"

"Oh, my, God, Dawn," Kennedy said, while following the girl--with her eyes--around the kitchen, "Why didn't you tell us how hot--no, beautifully sexy," she corrected, "Leah's mother is?"

Dawn laughed, "What? I've never seen her mother, for one thing. And you really need to stop perving over peoples' mothers."

Buffy nodded, "Agreed."

"What?" she looked between the two of them, "You haven't even seen her. I'm telling you…"

"That's great," Dawn said, sarcastically, "You have a girlfriend. Now, can you please tell us why she was here, and not what she looked like while she was here. That would probably interest us just a little bit more."

"She was just making sure that Leah wasn't off getting into trouble."

Buffy got up to rinse her bowl out, "Funny how her own mother doesn't even know where she is. Guess she didn't go straight home after she ate all of our food. I knew she was bad news."

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked, looking at her sister like she was an idiot, "Leah's upstairs, she spent the night. Kennedy," she said, turning to her, "please tell me that you're not as idiotic as my sister. You did tell her mom that she was here, right?"

"Yeah," Kennedy said, simply.

"What do you mean she spent the night?" Buffy asked. She looked her sister over, "And please tell me that, if she did, you didn't sleep in that."

"What's wrong with what I sleep in?" she asked, angrily, "And yes, she did spend the night. It was dark by the time she even thought about leaving."

"So, what? She lives, like, practically across the street. Surely, since she acts so tough, she could walk across the street. And your so called pajamas are scanky, that's what's with what you're wearing. I mean, look at you," they both looked down at what they were wearing, "Hello, Hookerville."

Kennedy cleared her throat, as Dawn started to argue back, getting their attention, "By the way," she smiled at Dawn, and then glared at Buffy, "Happy birthday, Dawn."

"Thank you, Kennedy," she smiled, "My sister seems to have forgotten."

"I did not forget," Buffy rolled her eyes, "Happy birthday…scank."

"Hey, you be nice to me. It is my birthday, after all," threw an arm over Buffy's shoulder, "I get that you're being all protective, but there's no reason to be. Leah and I are just friends. She's nice."

"Not as nice as her mother," Kennedy smiled.

"Ew," Both sisters said, in unison.

"I'm telling you, you wouldn't be saying that if you saw her," she turned around, hearing someone walking down the stairs, "Hey, Leah."

"Hey," the girl said, sleepily, as she walked into the kitchen. She lazily sat on the stool next to Kennedy, and put her head down on the island, "Happy birthday, Dawn."

"Thanks," Dawn said, smiling brightly.

Kennedy looked between the two of them, and smiled, "You know if I were any other person, with the way Dawn is dressed--or lack there of--and with the way Leah's all--I would so make assumptions right now. I would think that maybe the two of you--"

"Kennedy!" Buffy said, cutting the girl off, "Why don't you tell Leah about the fact that her mom stopped by."

Leah shot up suddenly, "My mom stopped by?"

"Apparently, she wanted to make sure you were here," Buffy answered, "According to Kennedy."

"What exactly did she say?" the girl asked.

"Nothing really…I mean she said that you weren't an angel, that you got your inappropriate joke making skills from her, and that telling me all that would probably embarrass you, which," she said, seeing that Leah's eyes were wide, "I think she was right about. Then, she came in for sugar."

"What, she came inside? Why did she come inside?"

"I'm guessing sugar," Kennedy nodded, "It's not a big deal really. It was totally embarrassing for me, 'cause I'm sure I was staring, and because I couldn't find the sugar for a while…then, she got up and got it from the cabinet that I could have sworn--"

Leah rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I bet she did. God, she's so--Then, she left right?"

"Yeah, she left, and she said she'd stop by later," Kennedy remembered.

"Great," the girl said, with a sigh. She looked down for a moment, then she looked up, "Can I use your shower?" she asked.

Dawn nodded, "Go ahead. There are some towels in there already," she watched her friend walk out, and then shrugged, "Guess they don't get along."

"Guess not," Kennedy said, turning back after watching the girl walk out. For some reason, her first thought was, 'Something's not right,' the girl had reacted too strangely, in her opinion, but she wasn't going to question it. Dawn might have been right, after all, maybe they just didn't get along.

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June sat on the floor at the end of her bed, leaning against her blue linens, and sighed. She had gone straight home after leaving Faith's, and jumped into the shower, hoping to calm her nerves, but it hadn't worked. Neither had smoking, or drinking, or anything else she could think of--that didn't require any sort of dark magic--Her hair was wet, making her cold as the air conditioner blew from the vent above her, and the lack of clothing--she was only wearing dark blue underwear and a light blue tank-top--wasn't helping, but feeling something, even just feeling cold that her body shook, somehow calmed her down a little. It told her that she hadn't gone numb; that her task hadn't pushed her into the darkness she had to escape from many times before, and because of that--though it wasn't a good feeling--it made her come back down to earth.

She could still feel the magic looming within her, from what she had used to break into Faith's mind, and it threatened to pull her in; to devour her, but she wouldn't let it. Couldn't let it. Things like that always followed her around--dark magic, her past--all of it seemed to show itself at the most inconvenient time. The times she hadn't expected it, or hadn't wanted it. Any magic that she performed now had this effect on her, no matter how small the spell--even teleporting was becoming an issue. It wanted her, and she felt it. She knew the day would come; would even think, 'It's only a matter of time', but she hadn't thought it would be so soon. That after being able to toy with it for so long, it would so easily start to win, but that's what happened with dark magic, and she knew that; she had always known. One can only indulge in it for so long before it begins to devour from the inside out. The problem that she had was that; with facing that fact, was that she hadn't done what she was meant to do yet. She would happily face that darkness if she had already complete her task, even welcome it just so she could laugh in its face, and prove that she had one. But, if it won--If it took her down before everything was set in motion, not only would she be unable to laugh, the rest of the world wouldn't either.

It wasn't that she couldn't really handle the magic within her, either, which is also what bothered her. It was the fact that there was no sort of real training for what she had to do. There was nothing to prepare the mind, soul, or body, for the job that she was meant to have--That she had been given with trust, and hope. Her kind had come so far, only to be withered down into a few, hiding out wherever they could. She was the only one left for the job, really. The only one willing to stand out and the open, and do all the things that could get her killed, along with a lot of other people she cared about. It was her destiny; she had been chosen for it, and yet--she repeatedly failed. She had read every book, gone through every detail, gone through each scene over and over, but still it seemed to all go wrong. From the beginning, she had been told that it would be hard, and dangerous, but she was getting more than she bargained for. There was always something she seemed to miss, and she didn't have much time left before it would all go down hill again, and she'd have to go back to the very beginning, after explaining why she failed yet again. That's why she couldn't believe it when he had told her to leave it there--To leave him with Faith. It was like he was trying to make her fail; teaching some kind of lesson in some warped fucked up way, but she knew not to argue, though she had started to. Then, having him say it again--Something was changing, and she wasn't being let in on it. She knew now, that she hadn't missed anything at all. It was that she hadn't been told something.

"Maybe," she thought, turning her head to the side, and looking out her window, "this is all just a game, and I'm like Mrs. Packman. Left out and second best to Mr. Packman. He gets all the goods, and I get the leftovers…if that, really. Or," she pulled her knees to her chest, "this is really it, and all the other times were really just trail runs, not only in a sense of me working it out in my head, but also in a way for me to be tested, and brought to this level of severe meltdown. That would explain why she's here, to make it final, and to tell me that it's now or never. The only way to find out is to talk to her myself, but if they see me with--Then they'd suspect her, and she'd have no choice but to--There has to be a way to get to her without going through them. Without taking the risk of--" she looked to her door, feeling a presence making their way through her house. The fact that she was that late in detecting it told her that he was with her, that she had him in her hands, and that he had himself shielded from her, again. She could then hear her mother, repeatedly saying, 'You can't go in there, she doesn't want to see you,' but she knew the woman couldn't stop her--wouldn't stop her when she saw what she was holding.

The door flew open, and Faith walked in, "I need to talk to you," she blurted, just as Catherine was about to tell her to leave, again. She had made it that far, there was no way she was going to leave now. It was all mapped out in her head; apologize, give the book, ask questions, she gets mad, apologize for everything, play nice, invite, and get answers. She was ready.

June looked at the hand the book was in, and then at her mother, who then nodded and left the room, "What do you want, Faith?" she asked, as she got up and went into her closet to put on a pair of pants. There was no need for an answer, she got it before she had even asked it--he told her; pushed the words into her mind. He was sending her to not only who she needed to see, but also to someone she didn't want to see--Someone in a higher position, "I'm really not in the mood for--"

Step one, "I'm sorry," she said, cutting the girl off. She waited for the girl to walk over to her, and then lifted her it towards her. Step two, "Here," she said, giving her the book. June was reluctant at first, but then she took it, and went over to sit on her bed. Faith looked around for a moment, realizing that she had never seen the inside of the girl's room. Two of the walls were painted dark blue, and the other two a lighter shade of blue. The covers on her bed were a pattern of dark and light blue. The tall silver lamp had a blue lamp shade on it. The desk a few feet away from her wall was painted dark blue, along with the chair in front of it. The carpet was dark blue. When she looked over at back at June, she noticed that the girl was also wearing both shades of blue, along with the fact that her eyes were also blue--not that she hadn't noticed that before.

June realized why Faith was looking at her weird, and nodded, "It's my mom's favorite color. She thinks mine, too. I just go along with it."

"Right," she stood there for a moment, dealing with the uncomfortable silence, and then went back to what she was doing. Step three, "That book told me some things," she started, immediately getting the girl's attention, and already noticing the slight change in the room, "I want you to tell me why it said that my sister was--Why it said that she was gonna get hurt. I want to know--What are you not strong enough for?" that was the last straw, and she knew it. Whatever what she said meant to the girl, she knew that it was enough to make her crack, faster than it usually took her to. Usually, you'd have to do something that would hurt her feelings--leave her in a motel after sex, take something from her--but that one question was enough at the moment.

"What gives you the right," she stood up, "to come here and ask me anything?" she asked, angrily, "Haven't you done enough as it is? You leave me like I'm a worthless piece of shit after we have sex; you come over here assuming that I'd hit the road, as if you could brake someone like me that easily; then you take something that belongs to me, and lie about it when I ask you to give it back; and now you get to ask questions? I'm thinking not. You have no right to be even be in this fucking room."

Anger, check. Now, for step four, "You're right," it pained her to say it really, but not because it wasn't true. It was because of the fact that she was saying it in order to just get information. That the lighter conversation she was going to lead them to, wasn't going to be completely real. They weren't really about to make up and become friends again, and that's what bothered her. From what she knew, and what she felt, June wasn't evil, but that didn't matter anymore. What mattered is the information she'd get from doing what she was doing; whether it be that the book was full of shit--which she preferred--or whether someone close to her sister was also the cause of her death, "Can we just," she motioned towards the girl's bed, and they both sat down. Then, she continued, "You're completely right, and this time I'm not going to try to turn it around and blame it on you, I promise. I really mean it when I say that I'm sorry for everything that I've done to you. All of it; leaving you, yelling at you, lying to you. I'm really sorry."

She knew that Faith was playing at an angel, trying to get answers just like she was, but she also knew that she meant what she said. If things had been simple, they could have been completely honest with one another, and things would be easier, but she knew that neither one of them could say what was really going on. They were on two different paths, with two different sets of direction. This is all they would get. This is all she would ever get, "I'm sorry, too," she said, looking away from her, "I wish I could answer your questions, really, but I don't know the answers to them," she said, honestly. She didn't know why he had told her that Kennedy going to get hurt, or what she herself wasn't strong enough for--If that was true though, then she was screwed. That, she did know.

Moving past that, she went on to step five, "So," she paused, "how much does Catherine hate me right now?" she asked.

June huffed, "Probably almost as much as I do. She's very protective. I am her 'baby' after all."

"You're also her favorite client," she said, gesturing to the room around them, "She obviously wanted to be one of those interior decorator people. Guess, she had to settle with you, though, once she had you. Being a doctor pays more, anyways."

"About that," she smiled, "My mom's not a doctor," Faith gave her a look, and she shrugged, "She's a stripper."

Faith laughed, "Seriously."

June nodded, "Yeah, has been since the age of sixteen. Apparently she's good at it."

"Really? I mean--that's…Wow, I didn't really expect that. I mean, not that she's not good looking--Not that I check out your mom or anything. It's just--Catherine is--"

"I'm kidding, Faith," she said, cutting the slayer off, "I'm going to stop you before you start saying things I never want to hear about my own mother," she said, laughing, "You totally fell for that, though. Does she really look like she could pull it off? You know what, don't answer that. Now I know that you've been perving over my mother, though, which is creepy."

"I don't know, you guys look just alike," she laughed.

"Uh uh, I do not look her. I don't look anything like my mother. I'm not pale," she pointed out, "and I don't have hazel eyes, either."

"You're not pale, because you tan. What doctor that you know has time to tan. As for the eyes, I'm guessing they run on the other side of the family--" she stopped for a moment, noticing that the girl had never talked about her dad, and then went on figuring it wasn't good for 'light' conversation, "But the sense of humor, the protectiveness--you definitely got that from her," honestly, she had almost forgotten about her 'mission' for a moment, which wasn't surprising, seeing that June always made everything else in her life disappear, but the fact that the girl didn't tell her certain things brought her back to the task at hand. Step six, "You want to go to a party?"

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, no…this isn't the whole chapter, and damn it I didn't want to, only getting to this point, because I didn't really get any of the good drama started--yes, there's more drama. But, I'm not sure I'll have any time to actually write tomorrow, 'cause I'm sure my mother will be breathing over my shoulder--and I'm very paranoid, so I'm putting this up just incase I end up busy over the weekend, because people like to plan my weekends for me. Anyways, there's going to be a part two (which doesn't take away from the fact that what's starting now will be a three chapter arc) here's some of what's in the next (and final) part: The surprise party is underway! Buffy tells Willow that she knows June is coming to the party, but Kennedy doesn't. Isabel comes to help out with the party. Dawn suspects that Leah is wanting to turn their friendship into something more, and starts to panic, while Leah bumps into a familiar face--the bad kind of familiar. Faith continues on her path to getting answers, while June is a little worried about her task being cut short by someone of higher power. All of the Scooby's have to come together to celebrate Dawn's birthday--despite all of their current drama. Kennedy continues to worry about Faith being so chummy with June. And, the night ends badly for two of the main characters--along with a few others. See, lots of drama. I hope you're looking forward to that, and I hope that I'll get it up by tomorrow, but…who really knows. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. sorry for any typos.


	26. Author's Note

Howdy!?

Okay, so I've gotten questions from many reviewers, on multiple sites, about Willow and Kennedy's relationship. Here's my response to the questions, or comments, or whatever else. I know that this story is under the whole 'Kennedy/Willow' area, and yes they are going to be together, but the story is not going to revolve around their relationship. By saying it's not, I don't mean it's never going to, I just mean not in this part of the story. This isn't some romance, or gay centered story, because just like in real life, being gay is just a part of someone. Usually it's not the center of their universe. I put it in the 'Kennedy/Willow' area, because that's who Kennedy is with… and that's the only person she'll ever be with from this point on, but the story definitely won't revolve around them. Also, I'd like to say that, because this is going to be a very 'saga' like situation, meaning that I'm going to go through every season of the show, that this is not when Willow and Kennedy will become the 'happy couple'. This first 'book' is just like a starting point. There won't be any 'settling down' type of things, because 1. They're too young, 2. There's too much going on, 3. There are four more seasons I have to cover (or parts of seasons), and 4. Because they're not in a place where they can make that decision, yet. I will tell you this, however--because I absolutely cannot give away all the plans I have for the whole saga, which, yes, I do already have planned out--there will be a point where they are absolutely 100 together no matter what, and there will be a point where the story does revolve around their relationship, even going so far as to depend on their relationship. But…it's not going to be in this one, it's going to come later. This fic is about Kennedy, Faith, and a group of people…not their romantic relationships. It's about two people living in a world that only seems to go against them, and all the secrets surrounding them, that ultimately leads to their survival, and the survival of all the other characters. Um, you know, there's just things in life that will complicate things to a point where being in a relationship may not be the best idea…Of course you guys are still in the dark on a few things, so you might not see that (the sentence before) but, trust me when I say…you will understand, after this three chapter arc. Not that I'm going to break them up again, because I could see how them going back and forth would be tiring…That being said, the whole part where I said that they'd be even further apart after the arc, doesn't mean that I'm going to break them up--I'll go so far as to say that they're not going to break up, because of the events that follow in this arc…but that doesn't mean that they'll never have some time apart. If it helps, I am going to be giving them more 'scenes' together.

I hope that that clears everything up, for anyone who was wondering about their relationship. I will be updating soon, and I hope that this AN won't stop any of you from reading this fic, or reading the sequel, and all the ones that follow. Thanks for reading, and please tell me your thoughts on the subject, I would really appreciate them. -ThomThom


	27. No Surprises Please Pt 2

Hello, ladies…and possible gents. I'm in a good mood today, which is shocking considering the way that I ended the night last night which was by getting yelled at for not cleaning the kitchen after my brother and his messy ass family decided to have a family breakfast fiesta, and not clean up after themselves, therefor becoming my duty of the day, which I was unaware of, but still managed to wipe off the messy counters and stove, which they tried to cover so I wouldn't notice…yet, because I didn't clean the entire kitchen, I got yelled at. Lovely, how parents aren't grateful for the fact that I got the syrup off the counters, and wiped the dried egg off of the stove. Hmm. Yet, I am in a good mood. Perhaps it is because I got a full nine hours of sleep last night. Hell yes! Maybe it was because I woke up and caught up on most of the fics I'm reading (all of which were amazing). I don't know, but I'm enjoying this fine, cloudy day, while I have all of my Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs (CD's and Ep's) on random replay. Yes, I am smiling. Oh, thanks to all of you who responded to my AN, and said such awesome things, I love you guys (happy tears…I'm not really crying.) Thanks for all of the reviews as well, loved them all, and thanks for reading. Here's the rest of the chapter, which I hope you'll all enjoy. I wanted to do a whole multiple post week/weekend, but I'm going school shopping, so I can't do that, but…I do promise to do lots of posts before I go back to school. I only have about two and a half more weeks left (sad, angry tears…still not really crying.) Hmm, I've gotten a good amount of chapters done…and there's only (going to look) thirteen episodes left in the season, and God only knows how many 'in between' chapters (mixture of happy and sad tears…might start crying.) Anyways, I'm having an amazing day, and I hope that this chapter is amazing because of it. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. to all you French speakers out there, forgive me if I make errors in my French…I'm beyond rusty, and what I do know, I learned in America…so I'm limited, and what I don't know, I use a dictionary to figure out. So sorry, if I screw it up, or butcher it.

Chapter Sixteen: No Surprises (Please) Pt. 2

Buffy looked at the plastic card in her hand, and frowned, "I just don't get how this is a better present than what we got her yesterday," she said, turning the gift card over in her hand, to read the back of it. Her and Willow had been searching all day for the, so called, perfect present for her sister, and had settled on a gift card. That was after walking around for hours, and going through countless stores, "I think she would have liked the bear we got her, Mom is just being all weird."

Willow smiled, "Well, Buffy, Dawn is growing up. You can't always get her teddy bears, and lollypops. Soon she'll be asking for permission to go see rated R movies, and to go on dates, and all kinds of things that teenagers eventually do. We could always give her the bear, too. I just think that she'll like a gift card to that ice-cream place more. She does love ice-cream."

"Yeah, she does," the slayer nodded. She handed the card to Willow, and sighed, "I can't believe she's all--getting older. There's no more teaching her how to walk, or dealing with her throwing her baby food at me."

The redhead laughed, "I think that's been over and done with for a while, Buff."

"Sure but, I would take all of that over the growing up, wanting to date, and watch rated R movies," she paused, "Has she told you that she wants to see rated R movies, 'cause if she has I'm sure that it's Kennedy's fault, with all her violence, and nudity, movies. Maybe, I'll just give her a little talk about letting Dawn watch everything that she watches."

"Doesn't every kid get curious about the movies they are forbidden to see? I don't think it's just Kennedy's movie collection. Though I too question her choices in film, while also pressuring her to watch the occasional chick-flick. Which, she totally admits to enjoying--after it's over, and as she puts in her movie of choice, but still…Maybe, you should talk to her about it. Key word being, talk. Only talk, no violence, or cursing, or yelling."

"What do you mean? I wouldn't go all overboard with it," her friend gave her a look, and she laughed, "Okay, fine, I would. But, only if she decided to argue that Dawn will eventually want to see them anyways, and that her being the one to watch them with her will only benefits her in the long run, as opposed to watching it with a bunch of hormonal teenagers who might want to try out what they're seeing, which I never understood. Do people not get that movies are just movies, and that sex scenes are just…cameras and mirrors? They're not a how-to guide."

"I agree," she nodded, "I don't feel encouraged to blow up cars after a movie, so why should I feel encouraged to have any sort of--" she blushed, "You know? Even if it's a little enticing, especially when your girlfriend is poking fun at you, because you're all red, and trying to look away from the screen, so you have to watch it to prove that you're not a chicken, or a prude, of any sort. Therefore, you might get some weird feelings while you're watching to prove that you are brave…You should definitely talk to her," she concluded, "Peer pressure and all."

"I will talk to her, especially after that babble fest you just went through. I don't want my sister staring at the screen just 'cause someone's saying that she's a chicken, or a prude. I don't think you're a prude, by the way," she added.

"Thank you," she nodded, "I'm shy, there's a difference."

"Definitely. There is nothing prudy about you," she lifted Willow's arm to look at her watch, "Do you think that Kennedy and my mom are back from getting decorations, yet?"

Willow looked at her watch, "They should be, but I think they were getting food, too. If Kennedy drove, they're definitely back. She's a danger to everyone around her in that thing."

"And yet, she still not only has a car, but her license too, which has never been taken away from her," she said, full of jealousy.

"I think that's just because she never speeds down major streets," the redhead pointed out.

" Maybe, if I convince my mom that I'll stay on back roads, she'll let me drive."

She frowned, "I don't know, Buffy. Wouldn't that only make her worry about you getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, after hitting a tree, or some poor deer?" she asked.

"I would not hit a deer," she said, sadly, "Fine, no driviness. But, if I would have been able to drive, I could have helped out with the decorations and food, and there wouldn't be so much last minute rushing, and Leah wouldn't be having to buy time, while also getting quality alone time with my sister."

"I don't think going to the mall counts as 'quality alone time' in the sense that you're thinking. You're still all weird about them being friends?"

"Yes," she declared, "And I think I should be. That girl is questionable."

"I don't know, she kind of reminds me of Kennedy," Buffy shot her a look, and she smiled nervously, "I could see the logic in worrying, but, Dawnie says they're just friends, so maybe you're just over thinking things. Even if you weren't, Kennedy turned out alright," she smiled, "In fact she turned out great, so Dawn would be in good hands…not literally, because that doesn't mean that she's exactly like Kennedy, not that Kennedy and I have--"

"I got it, Will, really," she said, cutting the girl off, "It's just that Leah's all--And, she's so--You know?"

"Not really, no," Willow admitted.

"You know what, fine. Whatever. I'll just leave it alone…As long as they remain only friends," she put her hands in her pocket, "So, you and Kennedy. All is good in that department?" Willow's eyes bulged, making her realize how her question sounded, "I didn't mean 'that' department. Relationship wise, Will. Gee, someone's mind is a little in the gutter today."

"No, it's not. There is no gutter, and even if there was, I would never frequent such a place. Relationship wise? Yeah, things--things are great. She's been really sweet, and very--She's herself, again. It's weird, it's like one day she just flipped the switch back to 'normal self', and things have been so great since then. There's no more odd behavior," she paused, "Well, sometimes she'll get a little distant for a moment, like if I leave the room to go get popcorn, or something like that, when I come back she'll be a little off…staring into space, and stuff. But, as soon as she sees that I'm back, she comes back, and things are great. She's great."

"That's good," the slayer smiled, "I've also noticed that she's been in a pretty good mood, lately. Things are definitely getting back on track. Really, I just think it was all that stuff with Faith that was getting to her. They used to be so close, so I'm sure having that whole 'betrayal' thing happen, and then with June…and just not being able to talk to her all the time, like she used to--"

"Exactly," Willow agreed, "I mean, Faith means a lot to Kennedy, so of course she would act a little weird after they stopped talking. It kind of makes me feel bad. Like, I should have been more supportive, instead of only thinking about the fact that she was being all weird, and distant…and kind of mean."

"Me too. Dawn and I weren't trying to be all comforting, either. We were just being nosy, or pointing out the fact that she was acting weird. But now, I see the error of my ways, and I've decided to fix things," her friend looked at her, confused and a little worried, "By means of invitation," she added, "I mean, everyone's already going to be there tonight--despite all the recent badness--so, I thought, 'you know what, let's just really get everyone together, and deal with everything'."

Willow slowed her pace, "What exactly did you do, by means invitation?"

Buffy slowed as well, seeing that they were rounding the corner that lead them to her neighborhood, "Well, I invited Faith to the party. And--" she blurted, because Willow was about to say something, "I did tell Kennedy about it. She's totally okay with it. In fact, she said that she was glad that I did, because she really wants to patch things up with Faith."

"Really?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows.

"Okay, maybe she didn't say all of that, but she did say that she was okay with it. There's just one little thing--A new development, and one that was totally not my idea," she cleared her throat, "But, you know, it will be good to reel Faith back in, and…June being close is better than her being far away and mysterious."

"Oh, no," she put her hand over her eyes, "Tell me you didn't--"

"I didn't," she shook her head, "I didn't, but…Faith did. Look, she called me earlier today, and she gave a pretty good explanation, that confuses me, but still it was good. And, there's something going on, that we all would like to have info on, so if we want to get that info, we have play nice."

Willow looked at her friend, "Did you tell Kennedy that she has to play nice?"

Buffy looked to the side, stopping completely, "I might have been hoping that you'd tell her, for me," she gave a fake smile, and twisted her lips into the side, "Okay, I could see how maybe, this would be bad--Very bad."

"Buffy," Willow sighed, "Oz and Cordelia are already coming, do you really think adding June is just a 'very bad' idea? It's a horrible idea. This is going to be a disaster--She's going to kill you," she said, as she started to walk, again, "I'm not telling her."

"But, Willow," Buffy whined, going after her friend, who was already making her way through her front yard, "If you do it, she won't blow a gasket. All you have to do is lay it on her, between a few pecks, and she won't even care, really," she heard Willow huff, "Okay, she'll care, but at least, she'll also be getting fun time with Willow, which will distract her…momentarily. She won't even think about it."

"Right," she stopped in front of the slayer's door, "She won't think about it--That is, until she sees June and tries to kill her."

"That wouldn't go well," the slayer thought for a moment, "Okay, don't tell her between kisses. Tell her at a more appropriate time, and convince her that everything will be fine," before Willow could object, she walked inside, knowing that Willow would stop talking about it, because both Joyce and Kennedy's cars were outside, meaning that they were inside, "We're home," she announced.

"We're in the kitchen," Joyce said, getting her daughter to come to her.

Buffy headed towards the kitchen, ignoring the glare that Willow was sending in her direction, "We finally found the perfect--" she stopped when she entered the kitchen, seeing that it wasn't Kennedy in the kitchen with her mom, it was another woman--not in that sense, "present," she finished.

"Buffy," Joyce put down the bowl of chips she had in her hand, "this is Isabel, Leah's mother. She offered to help us with the decorations."

The woman stood up, and walked over to where the two girls stood, "I'm in charge of the party hats," she said, with her thick accent, and with a smile on her face, "You are Buffy, right?" she asked, holing out her hand.

"Oh, yeah," Buffy shook the woman's hand, "That's me," she said, laughing nervously. She remembered that Willow was next to her, "This is my friend, Willow."

"Nice to meet you," the woman said, shaking the redhead's hand. She went back to sit on the stool, continuing to take out the party hats, while also glancing over at the redhead, "Ah, yes, I've met your girlfriend. She helped me this morning. She's nice."

"Yeah," Willow said, not really knowing what to say. Joyce asked the woman to help her with something, giving her the opportunity to lean towards Buffy, "Why did that sound dirty? The whole 'she helped me' thing? And why wasn't I told about this helping?"

Buffy, who was still staring at the woman, frowned, "Well, Kennedy told me that she came over, and that she was--Well," she gestured at the woman, who was still helping her mom, and therefore not looking in their direction, "But, I didn't think--I mean, Kennedy pervs over everyone's mother, so--But, she's really--Hmm," she paused, "I didn't think to tell you," she shook her head, "Wait, what was I supposed to tell you, again?"

"That some sexy momma has been 'helped' by my very attractive girlfriend," the redhead whispered.

"Right," she nodded, "As for the dirty part," she stood up straight, as the woman turned around, and smiled--Willow did too--trying to make it less obvious that they were talking about the woman, while also staring at her. The two woman started to do something else, so they dropped the smiles, and went back to what they were saying--trying to hear each other over the other conversation in the room, "everything she says is going to sound dirty--She's French."

"That's not true, Buffy," she said, rolling her eyes.

"No it is--Like," they both smiled again, as the women looked at them, and then dropped the smiles again, when they turned, "ask her to say something."

"What? No," she paused, "Like what?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Like, 'I want to water your garden', or something like that ."

Willow laughed, getting the two women's attention, and embarrassing herself. Then they looked away again, "I think that would sound dirty, no matter who says it," seeing that the women completely whatever task they were working on, and were now going to permanently in a position to see that her and Buffy were whispering things to each other, she decided to drop the subject, "Where's Kennedy?" she asked.

Joyce looked at the girl, "Um, I think she's upstairs in her room, if you wanna check."

"Okay, thanks," she looked over at Buffy, and scowled to let her know that she was off to tell Kennedy that June was coming, and then she headed towards the stairs.

After smiling at the redhead, Buffy turned back towards the kitchen, and smiled nervously when she saw that Isabel was looking at her. She walked further into the kitchen, and cleared her throat, "Can I help with anything?" she asked, leaning on the island.

"Sure," Joyce looked around, "Oh, wait, you still haven't told me what you got Dawn," she remembered.

"Oh," she reached in her pocket, but found it empty, "Willow has it…but I could still tell you what we got her," she said, feeling a little weird--more weird than usual, "We bought her a twenty dollar gift card to that ice-cream parlor on main street, that she really likes."

"Really?" Joyce nodded, "Would that happen to be the same ice-cream parlor, that I forbid her to go to, because she eats too much junk as it is."

Buffy smiled, "That would be the one," she made an apologetic smile, "What if I said I forgot about the whole forbidden thing?"

"I would say that you have to put up the rest of the decorations," the woman smiled, "I have to go get the cake anyways, and Kennedy's busy wrapping all the gifts that she bought for Dawn, none of which including a gift card for ice-cream."

"Says the woman who just poured yet another bag of potato chips into a bowl," the slayer said, gesturing to the three bowls on the counter, "Who's providing all the junk food now?"

"There are multiple people coming, and people eat. Just get to work," she said, walking out of the kitchen, "Isabel, you could come--" she started, poking her head back in the kitchen.

"Oh, no, I'll help Buffy," the woman smiled.

"Okay," she gave her daughter a 'behave' look, grabbed her purse, and walked out the door.

Buffy sat down on the stool next to Isabel and started to open the packages of all the decorations she was going to have to set up, "So you're from France?" she asked, after they had been sitting silently for a while--only the sounds of plastic wrappers being heard, along with the occasional laugh coming from Kennedy's room--as soon as the question came from her lips, she felt stupid for asking. Of course she was from France--'Well, she could have learned French from Canada, too,' she thought, but the thought faded when the woman beside her started to laugh.

"Yes, I am from France," she stood up and went over to the sink to clean out a few bowls her and Joyce had used to mix a few things--like dip, and well… other kinds of dip--She glanced over at the teenager, seeing that she was obviously embarrassed, and smiled. Then, she pulled back her sleeves, and turned the faucet on, "I could have been from Canada."

Buffy looked away from the directions, directly at the woman, and frowned. It was like the woman had read her mind--but, she didn't want to say that, because that would only embarrass her even more, so she said nothing.

"They do speak French there, too. And, a few other places," she said, glancing at the girl again. She washed out a few bowls, and turned off the water. Then she grabbed a towel, and turned towards Buffy, while she dried her hands, "Do you mind if I step out for a moment? I just have to run by my house to get the present Leah bought, I completely forgot it," she said, smiling and rolling her eyes, "Sometimes I'm just so--blah," she laughed.

Buffy laughed, too--for a reason she couldn't seem to figure out, "Sure, I mean--I'm not going to say no," she laughed, and also hit herself mentally, "I am on decoration duty after all, not you."

"Okay," she nodded. Once her hands were completely dry, she headed out of the room, stopping in the walkway. She turned back towards the girl, who was now standing by the bowls of chips, trying to decide which ones she wanted to eat, "You know," she said, getting the girl's attention, and making her blush with embarrassment, "It would be more of a, um, sprinkle. Like, instead of water…Je veux arroser votre jardin," she said, with a smile, then she left.

"That was weird," Buffy said, getting a handful of chips. She thought about it for a moment--the weird feeling she got when the woman said whatever she had said in French--and what she had said, beforehand, "Sprinkle instead of water? What's that supposed to mean, no one said anything about water. Maybe, it's a French thing," she grabbed a napkin, put the chips in it, and went back to her stool, "Sprinkle," she laughed, "That's a funny word. Though coming from her it sounded…kind of…" she paused, "dirty," she looked up, "Wait--" she shook her head, "No, there's no way."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"So," Dawn said, looking over to Leah, as they walked out of yet another store, "How long do we have to walk around, like this?" she asked, knowing full well that Leah was buying time so everyone could get her 'surprise' party set up. It wasn't that she didn't love the fact that they were throwing a party for her, it was just that they had been walking around for hours, and didn't have the money to buy anything. She was getting hungry, and wanted that shirt that some manikin was wearing at the store they were passing, "I'm hungry, Leah."

Leah looked at her watch, and then at Dawn, with a smile on her face, "Why don't we go into that store, they have some really cool shirts, and since I spilled spaghetti sauce on my favorite shirt the other day, and my mother refused to get the stain out, even though she could have--I am in need of a new t-shirt."

Dawn stopped walking, "So, if we go in that store," she pointed at the store, "We will come back out having actually bought something?" she asked.

"Yeah, if they have one that I like, and feel like I absolutely must have," she crossed her arms, "They told me six, okay? It's only four, deal with it."

"I knew it," Leah turned away from her, heading inside the clothing store, and she followed her, "Now, can you give me any detail on who's coming, or maybe what Kennedy has been hiding in Buffy's closet for the last month?"

"No," Leah laughed, "I will not give you any present details. Do you want Kennedy to kill me, or your sister to ban me from you house? As for who's coming--Last time I checked, everyone."

"Everyone as in, Willow, Giles, and Xander, or everyone as in 'everyone'?" she asked, concerned about how her party was going to turn out if 'everyone' showed up. It wasn't that she didn't have confidence in all of the Scooby's--though technically all of Buffy's friends coming is more of a party for Buffy, than a party for her--it was just that…No, she didn't have confidence in them. If they were all getting together, than there was definitely going to be some drama, and she wasn't in the mood for drama. She was in the mood for cake and presents.

"Um," Leah picked up a shirt, examined it, and then put it back down, "I think everyone as in 'everyone' is coming. I haven't met everyone, remember? I just heard a few names being dropped, and noticed some faces from Kennedy, and some comments from your sister--beyond her usual comments."

Dawn sighed, "Everyone's coming. Promise me something," the girl looked at her, "If things go bad, you have to be my escape route."

"I promise," the girl nodded. She lifted her hand, "Scouts honor."

Dawn laughed, "You've never been a girl scout," she glanced over at the girl, as she walked to look at a shirt, "Have you?"

"I hope not," she laughed, "I just did the boys scouts one, so there might be a bit of conflict of interest there. I mean, the girls get to go around selling cookies, and riding pretty pink ponies. The boys, they get to shoot bows and arrows, and go camping. Society is so screwed up. Still teaching girls to be Barbie, while teaching the boys to be hunters, and other types of aggressive things."

"Well, it's a good thing I convinced mom to take me out of the girl scouts, then," she lifted the shirt in her hand, so Leah, who was a couple feet away, could see it, "How about this one?" the girl examined it for a while, and then shook her head, so she put it back, "At least if things go wrong tonight, I'll get to finally see the inside of your house, and meet your mom. Kennedy said she was gorgeous…oh, wait, she said beautifully sexy."

"She's just 'Mom' to me," she said, annoyed by the thought of her mother, "I can't believe she came over to your house this morning. She's so full of crap."

"Whoa, maybe she was really trying to check things out," she walked back over to her, "You do spend a lot of time at my house, and she's right about you not being an angel. In fact I think she was being a bit modest," Leah pushed her playfully, making her laugh, "Well, I mean come on. When you're not at my house, who's your cover?--That's right, me. I'm the angel, here."

"I don't buy that for one second," Leah smiled, "But whatever. There is no way that my mom, who never ever really checks out where I go herself, came over to do just that. She's just--There's always something going on with her that I'm left in the dark about Then, my dad is just as bad. He has yet to make an appearance since the big move. But, it doesn't matter. I know their relationship was really just some sort of arrangement, like back in the dark ages. You marry her and you'll be worth a fortune. You marry him, and you'll get his good name. They're both full of shit."

"Wow, that's--My parents are split too, but--I don't think it's that bad. I think that maybe, just maybe, she might have really been checking things out. She even came inside for sugar. I'm very curious to meet her," she admitted, "To see if you don't like her because you're exactly like her," she laughed, "What should I call her? Does she do the whole 'Ms.' sort of thing?"

"No, definitely not. It makes her feel old, which if you ask me, she's ancient," she said, sarcastically, "You call her by her name I guess. I don't know if she's going by her first, or middle, though. Sometimes she switches it up."

"That, I will admit is weird," she lifted another shirt, and then put it down, "What's her name? Her full name? What's your full name, now that I think about it?"

"Mine is--And you can never repeat this to anyone by the way--Got it?" she asked, giving Dawn a look when all she got was laughter as a response, "I'm serious Dawn. My whole reputation depends on this."

"I'm sure it's no worse than the names my mom has chosen--Dawn and Buffy--especially Buffy. Those are some pretty strange name choices."

"Yeah, but they fit. Both of you are kinda strange, so--No, I'm serious," she said, seeing that Dawn was walking out of the store, "You can't tell anyone. Mine is really, really girly, and just--I can't even describe it. I have to tell you to show you," Dawn laughed at her again, "Okay," she nodded, "It's Chloe Christine Fryer--not fryer like a chicken that is ready to be fried, either."

Dawn stopped, and put her hand over her mouth, but couldn't stop herself from laughing, "I'm sorry, but--Chloe Christine?"

"See, this is why I never tell anyone, it's--it's so horrible," she groaned, "Just one of the many things I never let my mom live down. It took me forever to get her to call me Leah."

"Where does that even come from?" she asked, not seeing how Leah could really come from Chloe, or Christine.

"My aunt, really," she paused, "She has always called me Leah."

"I think Leah suits you more," Dawn smiled, "Though if I'm ever mad at you, I will be calling you by your real name--And spreading it around the whole school," she laughed, "Now, what's your mother's name, is it as girly as yours?"

"It's kind of girly, but I think it's more exotic, too. I mean, her first name is Isabel, her mother was Jewish, so she named her that. But her middle name, it's spelled G-I-S-E-L-E, but it's pronounced Z-Zel. Like diesel, but with a Z at the beginning, and a Z instead of a s. I don't really know what that's about. I think it's from my grandfather's side. He was part of some clan thing, where everyone had the same name, but no one was related. It's really weird. So, with her surname, her name is Isabel Gisele Finmere, but once she got married, we got the super English name…Fryer. If you say it with an accent, it sounds better."

"Is your dad British?"

"Yeah, he is. I'm the only one without an accent, which I also hold against them, though after speaking only French for a while, I had a hard time getting back to my normal voice. My mom is so weird about me knowing 'the French language,'" she said, mockingly, "My family is just weird, which is why I haven't taken you over to my house before. My mom is really forward, blunt, and intimidating, so I don't always know how people are going to take her."

"Kennedy seemed to 'take her' fine--That sounded really bad," she said, rolling her eyes.

Leah laughed, "Yeah, it did. I'm sure my mom was playing nice when she came over this morning," she looked at her watch and groaned, "Man, I'm hungry too, now. Let's go to that ice-cream shop. The one that your mom told me not to take you to while I'm buying time."

"See, you are the bad one…Okay, now let's go. I'm now craving ice-cream," she said, heading towards the giant doors of the mall, "I've been hungry for the last hour, Chloe Christine."

"Ah, see. That doesn't really work for me. I never should have told you about that," she said, pushing the door open. Once they were outside, she took a deep breath, glad to be free from all the stuffiness of the mall, along with the smell of all the other people inside of it. She loved the smell of the outdoors, and she had adjusted to the heat of Sunnydale pretty well. Things were seeming to go well, minus the fact that her mother was playing investigator. That thought pressed her to the edge of a high cliff and made her want to jump off. Isabel playing nice was never a good thing, so she knew that things were about to get chaotic, and unless she gave warning, she was going to lose the friendship she had with Dawn.

That being thought, she looked over at the girl, as they started to walk down the street, heading for the smaller part of town, where the ice-cream parlor, "Hey, Dawn," she said, getting the girl to look at her, "I need to talk to you about something."

Dawn frowned at the girl's serious tone, thinking about the fact that the girl was usually never serious, "Like what?" she asked, as she also began to sort out the possibilities in her head. Things had been a little off between them all day--a little tense, and she was wondering if that was what Leah was wanting to talk to her about. Really, it had all been weird since their whole 'sexuality'--or Dawn's lack of--conversation the night before. Leah had asked her about it, and she couldn't--No, she didn't know how to answer. There had never been a time where she had ever really thought about it, but since Leah had asked, she did kind of started to wonder. Especially with her whole thing with having a crush on Kennedy. But, that was different, or she thought it was different.

"Our friendship, like, is completely--Usually I don't make friends, because I always think in the back of my mind, 'We won't be here for long, so there's no need to get attached to anyone,' but this time--I let myself get attached, and I became friends with you. All those other people I talk to don't mean shit to me, they're party people, but you--You mean a lot to me. Our friendship is awesome. I already feel like I could tell you anything, and I'm really comfortable around you, so I think that maybe--"

"I have to go to the restroom," Dawn blurted, suddenly. She rolled her eyes, and shook her head, "I mean, could you just hold that thought? I really--Just for a second," she looked at the store they were passing, and cringed at the thought of public bathrooms, but she needed a moment and there was nowhere else to go, "I'll be right back out, I swear," she said, walking off.

"Okay," Leah said, putting her hands in her pocket, "Wow," she huffed, "Great, now I have to work myself back up to--," someone grabbed her suddenly, and she found herself being pulled in narrow area between the store Dawn had went into, and another store, "What the fuck are you--?" she started, as someone slammed her against a wall, the impact making her close her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she was still unable to complete the sentence. There was only one thing she could manage to say--One name, "June?"

"Hello, Leah," she said, gripping the girl's shirt even tighter, "Funny thing, I didn't recognize you at Faith's place. You're all grown now, aren't you?"

"If I say yes, does that mean you'll let me go?" she asked, giving a fake smile. June hit her in the stomach, making her hunch over slightly, "I'm guessing no," she groaned, "What do you want from me?"

"I want to know why you're here, and I don't want you to feed me some bullshit, either," she said, through grit teeth.

"Why would you think I'd bullshit you?" she said, angrily.

"It runs in your blood. Now, tell me what the fuck you're--" she paused, looking to the side, "Damn it."

Leah looked around, "Who's coming? Is it Dawn?"

June glared at her, "We'll be talking about that too, later," she threw the girl out of the narrow space, and then walked out herself, "Fix your clothes, they're a little wrinkled now."

"Gee," she started to straighten her clothes, "thanks for the suggestion," she said, sarcastically.

Faith walked over to them, a wrapped gift in her hand, with a frown on her face, "Hey, aren't you that, uh--You're that kid that Buffy thinks is trying to get into Dawn's pants, right? What's your name--Leah?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "You're the one that lives in the motel," she said, unable to suppress her anger. After a second, she stuck out her hand, "Sorry, I'm having a weird day. You're Faith, right?" they shook hands, "I've heard lots about you."

"Obviously," Faith said, giving the girl a side ways look. Then, she looked at June, "Where'd you go, I was all standing there talking to myself? You're making a girl look kind of crazy," before the girl could answer, Dawn walked up to them, "Dawn, what are you--?" she looked down at the gift in her hand, "Great," she mumbled.

"That wouldn't happen to be a gift for me, would it, Faith?" she asked, trying to get a better look at the present, by leaning forward.

June put her hand between the girl and the wrapped box, "Actually, it's not for you, at all."

Dawn crossed her arm, "Oh, really? So, you just happen to be walking around with a gift the same day as my birthday?"

"Oh, it's your birthday?" she asked, pretending to be oblivious to the fact. She pulled out her wallet, "Here's ten bucks for you," she pulled a ten out, and held it out. After a second, Dawn took it from her hand, "You're welcome," she smiled.

"Thanks," she stuffed it in her pocket, "I'm still not convinced, though. You guys are as stealth as my mom when it comes to this stuff. There just happened to be a bunch of streamers in her room, too. I wonder if this perfectly wrapped box will just happen to appear in my hands at my party--Since you're obviously invited."

"Party?" June frowned, "Well, it seems like I've been left out of the loop once again. Gosh, I guess those guys still haven't forgiven me for secretive. I'm really trying to work on that," she nodded, "I'm really trying here. But, look, now that I know that you're having a party, I'll really try to suck up, so they'll invite me, and I can shower with gifts. That's what I live for after all."

"Hmm," Faith said, looking away from the group. June was playing the game hard to convince Dawn that the present wasn't for her, and she had to keep herself from either laughing, or from stepping in before June went overboard. Either choice would make her, and the gift she was holding, seem suspicious, so she just looked away.

"Hey," June continued, "If you're not convinced, though. I can open it up, and show what's inside. We only had it wrapped because of its questionable contents," she said, as she started to unwrap the gift, while also trying to keep Faith from freaking out. She had things under her complete control, "Just give me a second to get the wrapping off."

"Fine," Dawn said, simply.

She got the wrapping off enough to get the top off of the box, which she handed to Leah, "Now, you guys can't be judgmental, okay? Some people are--Well, there are different ways to enjoy sex."

"Sex?" both Dawn, and Faith questioned.

"Aw, don't be shy," June said, looking Faith directly in the eyes, as she pulled out some pink fluffy handcuffs, which she also handed to Leah, who was just standing there, "Without the fluffiness--Well, we don't want to leave any marks on the wrists, 'cause that could lead to all kinds of other questions. And this--," she said, reaching into the box, again, "we'll just have to wear normal t-shirts for a while. None of those tank tops, Faith always wears," she pulled out a long whip, and winked, "Do you want me to take out the rest?" she asked.

Dawn shook her head frantically, "No, thanks, I'm convinced."

June shrugged, "Oh, okay. I mean, there's some other neat things in here," she said, turning to the box, "You should really see--"

"No, that's okay," Dawn said, with her eyes wide. She took the box top and handcuffs from Leah's hands, and practically threw them at June, "Thanks for the ten bucks. We're just gonna go. It was--Interesting seeing you guys--And, slightly horrifying," she added, as she pulled Leah around them.

Once they were a few feet away, June looked at Faith and smiled, "Well, that was fun."

Faith burst out laughing, "Jesus Christ. What the hell was that?" she asked, looking into the box to see what they had actually gotten her, "I was starting to get a little scared there. Who knows what else you would have pulled out."

"I was thinking nipple clamps next," she grinned

"Man," she sighed, "That was--I bet she's gonna go home and tell B that I'm some sort of kinky chick that's into pain, now. Not that I object to it, but--Wow. How did you do that?"

She looked around her, as she put the items back into the box, and put the top back on, then she waved her hand over it, and took the top off to show that there was only what they had originally gotten Dawn, "Hmm, I wonder," she put the top back on, waved her hand over the entire gift, and it was suddenly wrapped again, "Magic, perhaps?" she smiled. Then she took a few steps away from Faith, glancing over at Leah as she did, "Hey, is it cool if I meet you there a little later? I just remembered that I needed to take care of something."

"Yeah, sure," the slayer said, watching the girl back away. She really wanted to question her about where she was going, but she knew she wouldn't get a straight answer, so she didn't bother, "I'll see you later, then."

"Cool," she turned to walk across the street, looking at Leah again, "I'll see you later, too, Leah."

Leah looked over at June, who was crossing the street, having felt that the girl was staring at her, and then looked back at Dawn, who was still talking about the whip and the handcuffs, "I can't believe she just pulled them out like that," she said, still surprised by what had happened, "They're such freaks of nature. Why would they get it wrapped?"

"Uh, I don't know," Leah said, trying to return to as much like her normal self as possible. She had known that something was going to happen when she moved to Sunnydale. There had just been a feeling that she couldn't shake, and her mom taking an interest in Dawn's family made it no better. Something was up, and once again, she had been left in the dark.

"I never would have thought that June was into that sort of thing. We never really got to talk that much, but whenever we did, she seemed like she was, I don't know, sweet. I guess sweet people might like stuff like that, too. Maybe even more than most people," she concluded, "No, I can't picture someone like Willow--Who's like ultra sweet--being into that kind of stuff. Maybe Kennedy--" she looked over at Leah, who was being oddly quiet, "Hey, what's up?"

"Um, it's just that, June--" she paused for a moment, picking her words wisely, "She said that she knew me, or had met me before. That her uncle knew my aunt, the one that has always called me Leah, and that she--" another pause, "That she hadn't recognized me before, because I had been so young when we met, which explains why I didn't recognize her, either."

"Wow, small world," any other time, she would have been questioning every word--every event of the last few weeks, concerning Leah and June, but at that moment--She was still recovering from not only the whip and cuff incident, but the 'talk' she had ran away from before that. After some thinking time in the public, and yet oddly clean, restroom, along with splashing her face a few times, she had prepared herself to be officially asked out for the first time. She had even come up with an answer--Which was at first going to be a very high pitched chipper, 'Yes, I'll go out with you,' but had been dialed down--after some woman gave her a weird look in the restroom--to a more cool, calm, 'Yeah, I'll go out with you.' The yes and yeah had totally different affects in her mind, "So," she eased, "what were you saying earlier?" she asked. Leah gave her a confused look, "You know, you said you wanted to talk to me about something. What did you want to talk about?"

"Right," she laughed, "It was nothing, don't worry about it. We better hurry if we actually want to finish the ice-cream," she said, opening the parlor door for Dawn.

Dawn walked in, rolling her eyes, "It was nothing," she mumbled, mocking the other girl.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Up in Kennedy's room, Willow had been talked into helping Kennedy wrap all of the gifts she had gotten Dawn, which consisted of a large stack of boxes, ranging from extremely light to impossible to pick up--at least for Willow. They had talked, and laughed about a few things, but they had yet to discuss who was coming to the party later. Meaning, they had avoided all serious talk. They knew that Oz was coming, and that was their main concern--or, Kennedy's main concern, because she didn't know about June coming--They would have to set boundaries, try not to get all cuddly all night, so the alone time they were getting at the moment, was the only time they could be remotely couple like for the rest of the day, on into the night. It would be the first time the whole gang would be back in one room, along with a few other people, so really they had no choice. They were the only couple, since Dawn and Leah technically weren't a couple, and therefore didn't count. It was never really cool for a couple to be a 'couple' when everyone else in the room was either single, or bitterly single. That would only rub their loneliness in their faces, so they had to settle for the little alone time they had left.

That was another reason why Willow didn't want to tell Kennedy about June coming; it would ruin their alone time. The other girl had already addressed the fact that Oz coming would make the night awkward, and Faith coming would make the night interesting, possibly good or bad. Adding June to her worries just didn't seem like a good idea, but she had to tell her eventually, or she'd miss the opportunity and June would pop up instantly getting the impact of Kennedy's fist. She looked over at her girlfriend, who was wrapping one more box, and smiled when she looked up at her, as she tried to build her courage.

Kennedy looked down, and laughed, "What's up with you, today?" she asked, setting the wrapped gift aside, "You've been doing that all day."

Willow blushed, "Sometimes I like to look at you--to watch you."

"Oh, really? Hmm," she looked at what Willow was wrapping, "You almost done with that, you've been wrapping the same one for the last fifteen minutes? Maybe it's because of this supposed watching you like to do. Here," she said, walking closer to her, "let me finish it," Willow handed it to her, and it took only a couple of minutes for her to not only finish, but to also fix the weird way that the redhead had wrapped it, "What kind of wrapping was that, don't you ever wrap anything?"

"I'm Jewish," she shrugged.

"I get that, but birthdays? Anything? There are other times than Christmas time that require gifts, hints the fact that we're wrapping presents today, for Dawn's birthday," she looked around the room, "I think that that was the last one. Thank God, I was starting to run low on paper," she said, as she sat down on top of the bed, "And energy," she unlaced her shoes, took them off, and then laid down, "Who knew that wrapping presents took so much energy?"

Willow kicked off her shoes, and laid down too, both of them laying on their back for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, "Maybe that's why I don't do it," she smiled.

Kennedy, who was on the left side of the bed, laughed and turned over onto her side, facing the window, "Somehow, I don't think that's the reason," she said, as she reached behind her towards Willow, until the redhead put her arm around her waist. After the redhead cuddled into her back more, and they were both comfortable, she sighed in relief. It had been a long day full of errands, and food that she wasn't aloud to eat, along with the reappearance of Leah's mother, so she was extremely tired--Not to mention the fact that she had to sleep on the couch the night before, and then didn't get any sleep because of how cold it was, and because of all her random nightmares. With that thought, she moved further into the curve of Willow's body, and closed her eyes, not opening them again, until she heard an odd sound.

She frowned, and cut her eyes to get any possible glance at the other girl, "Uh, Will, are you sniffing me?" she asked.

Willow laughed, "No, I'm not sniffing you. I'm breathing," she smiled.

"Yeah, in my hair. What are you doing, weirdo?" she asked, laughing, "I'm dating a freak, who likes to sniff me while I'm trying to get a little nap in before a horrifying party. Why can't I just pick the normal ones."

"I am normal," she declared, "It's not my fault that your shampoo smells good, and you're the one who arranged us like this. I didn't ask for cuddles, that was you. You're the one who laid down, and then pulled me all close to you, after making me slave away with all the wrapping."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, "It's my fault that you're sniffing me," she closed her eyes again, but she knew she wasn't going to get to take her quick nap. It was too close to the time that everyone was going to arrive, and Willow was obviously wide awake, and weirder than ever, "So, speaking of gifts, what'd you and Buffy get Dawn?"

"We got her a teddy bear," Kennedy laughed at her, "Hey, don't laugh."

"Sorry," she cleared her throat, "Continue."

"Anyways, we got her a teddy bear, and a gift card to that ice-cream place that she loves," she said, proudly.

Kennedy opened her eyes, and turned slightly, so she could see Willow, "The one that Joyce said she can never step foot in again?" she asked.

Willow frowned, "Buffy didn't tell me that part," she paused, "I got her a teddy bear," she said, now knowing that she had to completely get her name off of the gift card they got Dawn. She didn't want to get in trouble when she didn't know Dawn wasn't aloud to go there, so she'd be the one to give the girl a kiddy gift. She was fine with that, "So what'd you get her? I'm sure there's a whole entire list of things."

"No, there's no list," she said, smiling, "I gave her money."

"What?" she frowned, "Then, what did we do all that wrapping for?" she asked.

"That's what the money's in," she looked at one of the boxes on the floor, "You see, what I did, is make Dawn think she got a whole bunch of gifts, because she's been snooping around trying to find them. Some of the boxes--the light ones--are full of bills. They range from ones to twenties, with the occasional fifty. The heavy ones--" she laughed, "They're full of change. Ranging from pennies to dimes, 'cause I didn't want to out gift everyone."

"I don't see how giving her change, to make her think that she got something awesome, would out gift anyone," the redhead said, not surprised by her girlfriend's actions.

She huffed, "You don't know how much money I gave her, and no--you don't want to know. Let's just say, she won't be able to count it all during the gift opening sitting. Some of it was the money I was going to spend on my car, before I figured out I could fix it myself, and the rest of it was saved up just incase Faith and I hit the road again. Since that is obviously not going to happen, I'm giving it all to Dawn--That's quite a bundle of cash. As for the change, don't worry, I took some of the money to the bank and had it exchanged for change, so she doesn't have as much as she thinks. You should have seen the look on the bankers face when I asked for a hundred pennies. I thought they were going to kick me out once I got to the two hundred dimes, and lets not even talk about he nickels," she laughed, "Seventy five dollars worth--That's about fifteen hundred nickels."

"Kennedy," Willow said, rolling her eyes, "that's ridiculous."

"She should have been patient, then I would have gotten her a real gift," they laid in silence for a moment, a smile still on her face, as she thought about Dawn opening box after box. She figured that once she got the ones that contained only a few coins, she'd give up, and that would mean that she herself would have to convince the girl to open the rest of them later, so she could realize that she did actually receive the gift--by means of cash. Their silence, however, was interrupted by a crash downstairs, followed by laughter. One laugh she recognized instantly, the second one took her a moment.

When she figured it out, she turned over--pausing when she turned over to see Willow staring at her--which she rolled her eyes at, "Is that--?"

"Buffy and Isabel?" she finished, "Yes, it is."

"I guess Joyce went to go get the cake, and left them in charge of decorations," she put her arm across Willow, and scout back just a little, so their faces weren't only centimeters apart, "So," she grinned, "what do you think about Isabel?" Willow only laughed at the question, "No, I'm serious. Come on, what do you think about her? Isn't she just--I mean, did you see her?"

"Yes, she's kind of hard to miss," she nodded, "Even Buffy seemed a little awestruck," she admitted, "What was that about you helping her with something this morning?" she asked, remembering what the woman had said, "Why wasn't I told about this helping, and why doesn't it sound so simple as actual helping? It sounded kind of dirty when she said it."

"She's French, of course it sounded a little naughty. All I did was tell her that her daughter was here, help her with her watch, and then I gave her sugar--actual sugar, not--It was nothing. I didn't even make jokes or anything. It was all her. She's kind of weird, right? It's not just me thinking that?"

"No, there is definitely some weirdness," Willow agreed, "It's weird that she's so tall, and attractive. It's not normal at all. I mean, you're the only girl that I've ever thought was remotely attractive--"

"Good to know," Kennedy interrupted.

"But," she said, stressing it, "I cannot say that that woman downstairs isn't--beautiful."

"I know, right? And that accent--She's like walking sex, am I right?"

Willow laughed, "I don't think I'd go that far, especially when talking to my girlfriend--hint hint--who doesn't have the confidence, or legs that 'Isabel' has."

"Aw, babe, you should be very confident," she said, smiling. Once she saw that Willow was smiling, in her mushy kind of way, she knew she could finish the sentence, "having such a gorgeous girlfriend like me."

"Kennedy," she said, taking her arm from around her, and starting to get up, but Kennedy pulled her back down.

"I'm kidding," she laughed, "Don't leave, I was just kidding, Will. You're sexy--In a smart, nerdy kind of way. No, I'm kidding. You know I think you're sexy."

Willow turned away from her, "Whatever. You're such a meanie."

"I've had worse things said about me," she said, trying to get the girl to look at her, "Hey, I obviously do find you attractive. I cuddle with you, and I'm not usually so big with the cuddling. And, I kiss you."

"You do kiss me," Willow nodded, still not looking at her.

"I love kissing you. In fact it's my favorite activity--Well, second favorite," she grinned. Willow started to get up again, "I'm kidding. I'm a joker, remember. It's why you love me," she teased, "I only do it so much because I love how cute you are when you pretend to be angry."

"I'm not pretending," she finally turned to her, "This is my angry face."

"You're angry face closely resembles your 'I'm in love with you' face, did you know that?" she said, moving closer to the other girl, "It's kind of…sexy. I think I want to kiss you. Yeah, I think I do."

Willow turned her head away, "Ick! I don't want to kiss you!" Kennedy started to try to kiss her, and she started to move away from her, laughing when Kennedy started to pull her back over to her, "Quit it! I don't want to kiss you!" she felt the girl start to tickle her, and really started to squirm, trying to get up from the bed, "Kennedy! Don't do that!"

"Let me kiss you, then," she laughed, "Come on, you know you want to. Just let it happen. It'll be the best kiss you've ever gotten, hands down," she said, tickling her even more, "All you have to do is say 'Okay'," she laughed, "Followed by, 'Oh, my, God, Kennedy. You're are the most awesome girlfriend in the world, the sexiest too…and you have mad skills.'"

"I am…not…going--Stop it!--I'm not going to say that you have mad skills," she tried to slap Kennedy's hands away, but it wasn't working. She was trapped--But she wasn't going to give in that easily, despite that fact.

Kennedy too saw that the girl wasn't going to give in, so she took it up a notch for a second, and when she saw that wasn't going to work either, she settled in a new type of torture. She got the girl lying flat on her back, and then straddled her, sitting there, staring down at her. After a moment of just looking up at her, Willow rolled her eyes, and moved to push Kennedy off, but Kennedy caught her hands, and pushed them down, above the girl's head. She leaned down, just above the redhead's lips, feeling her try to move up to meet her lips as she did, and stopped, "How about now?" she asked, in a whisper.

Willow smiled, "Not a chance. Now, get off of me. What if someone walks in here?"

"Ooh, I hope it's Isabel," she grinned.

"See, that's exactly why--" she heard the door close downstairs, meaning that someone had arrived, and remembered that she had to tell Kennedy, who was now sitting up, looking in the direction of the door, about June coming. Seeing that the grip on her wrists had been loosened, she slipped them from Kennedy's hands completely, and instead reached up, and pushed some of the girl's hair away from her face. When Kennedy turned back to her, with a smile on her face, she couldn't help but want to kill Buffy for what she was about to her, "I have to tell you something."

"You're giving in?" she asked, grinning.

"No," she rolled her eyes, "It's something serious--and it's bad news."

"Bad news?" she frowned, "Are you messing with me?" she asked, cutting her eyes at the girl.

"Sadly, no," she sighed, "About who's all coming to the party tonight--"

"Yeah?" she said, getting the girl to go on.

Willow took a deep breath, "Um, while we were out earlier, Buffy happened to mention that Faith called earlier. Apparently, June is coming to the party," Kennedy first looked away from her, and then got off of her, without saying a word. She just laid down beside her, and stared off into space, making Willow really want to go downstairs and kill her best friend, "Look, Kenn, Buffy said that Faith gave some kind of confusing explanation, or something, and that it made sense. This way, you guys can keep an eye on her, too," she paused, "Are you okay?" she asked, "I could go downstairs and tell Buffy to un-invite them," she offered.

Kennedy shook her head, "No--" she turned over to look at Willow, "It's fine," she said, quietly. She leaned towards her and kissed her, just holding it there for a minute, and then pulled back, "It's fine, really," she guaranteed. Then, she smiled, "Come on, let's see who's here, and how bad Buffy screwed up the decorations."

She watched Kennedy get up, her eyes full of concern, as the girl put her shoes back on, but when she turned to her, with that smile on her face, Willow couldn't help but smile too. She got up from the bed, put her shoes on, and walked over to the door, where Kennedy was then waiting. They intertwined fingers, gave each other a quick kiss, and then walked out the door, letting each others hand go as they walked down the stairs.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

The decorations, contrary to Kennedy's prediction, had not been screwed up by the eldest Summers. Everything had been placed in the correct location; the streamers were hanging from the ceiling; the banners were hung above the dinning table, and over the chimney; the party hats and noise makers were on the coffee table in the living room; the punch bowls, dip bowls, and chip bowls were scattered through out the living room, as well as the kitchen; the pizza was in the kitchen--Everything was in place. The only thing about the decorations--they weren't screwed up, they were just a little overdone. A little as in seriously, completely overdone.

Buffy had felt that since she was in charge of decorations, she had to do her absolute best to make it all perfect--with the help of Isabel--and had completely covered every table with confetti, and glitter, which was fine--As long as no one laughed and sent it flying into the punch, dip, or chip bowls. Then, there was the streamers, which they had placed in every doorway, walkway, or possible entrance of a room to the point of nearly suffocating someone as they walked through them to enter a room, or just into the house period--which had made bringing the cake in very difficult for Joyce, and pushed her to yell at Buffy about it, but stop when Isabel also took on some of the blame. Apparently, there had been some sort of contest to see who could put the most streamers, in the fastest amount of time. To Buffy's surprise, Isabel won--and that also explained the laughter that Willow and Kennedy had heard, which seemed to happen after Buffy fell off a step latter, trying to beat Isabel--who then traded areas with Buffy, because she was taller, giving Buffy the doorways, while she did parts of the ceiling--hints the suffocating streamers in the doorways and walkways. They didn't really reveal who's idea it was to go crazy with the confetti, but as Willow and Kennedy had walked downstairs, they spotted Buffy running through the house, throwing confetti behind her, followed closely by Isabel, who also had a hand full of confetti. When questioned on it--They had no comment. That didn't make Joyce happy--Buffy was put on clean up duty.

Slowly, everyone had begun to arrive, making their way through the front door streamers--where they were laid on the most. Giles had arrived first, of course, because he was older and actually punctual. Then came Xander, who brought down some streamers as he came in, and got some complaints from Buffy, before he completely melted at the sight of Isabel, who was talking to Giles about all things Europe--she seemed a bit uncomfortable, because of all the staring, but she continued to talk anyways. Next, came Oz and Cordelia--thus beginning the awkwardness.

"What is up with the overflow of decorations?" Cordelia asked, as she walked through them.

Oz just lifted them slightly, and ducked underneath them, "I'm guessing there's a party. Sometimes there are decorations at these types of things."

Joyce walked over to the two of them, spotting gift in Cordelia's hand, "Oh, we're putting the gifts in my room, so Dawn won't start opening them as soon as she walks through the door," she looked at Oz, who had a hard case for a guitar in his hands, "Um, please tell me you didn't get her a guitar."

"Uh, no," he lifted it a little, "I gathered up some old CD's and loaded this case with them. It's a pretty good collection--We talked about music once."

"Even better," the woman said, thinking of all the loud music that was going to blasted through her bedroom wall, "Well, just follow me, and we'll put them upstairs," she said, guiding them up to her room.

Xander watched as they passed by them, Cordelia rolling her eyes at him as they did, "How bad do you predict this night will be?" he asked, looking over at Buffy and Willow, who were also watching Joyce take the new arrivals upstairs.

"I'm guessing there might be a slight chance of badness," the slayer said, as she hoped Oz didn't bump into Kennedy while they were upstairs.

Willow nodded, "Kennedy knows who's going to be here, so she should be fine. I told her about June coming, so there will be no surprises."

"I'm sorry," Xander said, looking at them through slant eyes, "I thought you just said that June was coming. Here I thought we were part of the disliking parade."

"We don't necessarily dislike her," Buffy said, after a moment, "We just don't necessarily trust her, either."

"Isn't that the same thing?" he asked.

Both girls shook their head, "No."

"Okay," he nodded. Then, he looked over at the adults, who were talking by the chimney, "Wow, she is one--" he sighed, "If only I were older."

"And fit in the whole tall dark and handsome category," Buffy huffed. Her friends looked at her oddly, "What?"

"They've been awfully chummy," Willow said, as she walked over to Kennedy, who was making her way downstairs, making a face--she had seen Oz, "I'll talk to you guys later."

"Okay," Xander nodded, then he looked over at Buffy, who was looking at the adults, "Define chummy."

Isabel looked away from Giles, spotting the two teenagers that were staring at her, who then looked away with red faces, then she turned back to the British man. He had been talking non-stop since he had noticed what region of France she might have been from, that he had visited 'some years before', and was hoping that he'd stop talking. She hadn't come to chat with a highly educated man, and she had no intention on doing it all night. If she wanted to do that, she could call her husband, who was also British, and highly educated.

Giles took a sip of his drink, and then continued what he was saying, "I'm just astounded, Ms. Fryer--"

She frowned, "Isabel--Please call me Isabel."

"Yes, I'm sorry," he smiled slightly, "Anyways, I'm just astounded by the country side in the region that you come from. It is such beautiful, untouched land. I had wondered who's family it might have belonged to that would be so rational as to not let the big industries buy it out from under them. It is so inconceivable--The way that people simply give up such beautiful--"

"Mr. Giles," she interrupted, "that land does not belong me. It belongs to my husband's family, and I could care less if the next market ripped it out from under them. It is, uh, what you say--of no concern to me, at all. The fact that you feel you need to flatter me with your knowledge of my homeland, is very--tainting, when we're supposed to be enjoying a party for a young girl, who my daughter happens to be friends with, which is why I'm here--Not to get a lecture from a man who, somehow, in my mind, resembles my mother. In a sense of lecturing, of course. Oh, darling," she said, mockingly, "his family has such beautiful land. He has such a good name," she paused, "Je n'aime pas ma mère. Je ne sais pas sa terre, parce que je ne veux pas savoir à son sujet. Comprenez-vous ce que je dis?" the man nodded, "Bon," she looked to Joyce, "Do you want anymore punch, Joyce? I could get you some."

"I think I'll just put out another bowl, there's some confetti in this one," she said, looking into her cup.

Giles watched the two women walk away, shocked by what the woman had said, "Family issues, I suppose," he concluded, as he took another drink, only to end up with confetti in his mouth, "Bloody hell."

Willow and Kennedy spotted the man, as he made faces after taking a drink of his drink, and laughed, "How much you wanna bet he just got a mouth full of confetti?" Kennedy asked. She unconsciously intertwined her fingers with Willow, and then pulled her hand away when Oz entered the room, "Sorry."

"No, don't apologize," she grabbed Kennedy's hand, and pulled her into the dining room, "Look, I don't want to be all distant, because Oz is here, okay. We can't always separate ever time we see him, and--and, I don't want to hide our relationship--except, you know, from my parents…I'll wait to tell them. But anyone else--We shouldn't have to. He knows that we're together."

"I know, but I don't want you to feel pressured by my touchy habits, or anything," Kennedy said, sympathetically, "You want to be friends with him, and rubbing our relationship in his face isn't going to help in that department, I understand that. If that means I'll have to keep my hands to myself, that's okay."

"No, it's not okay," she pulled Kennedy's arms around her waist, "Oz doesn't want to be friends, so we don't need to be discreet. He has to get used to seeing us together, and you live with my best friend, so he has to know that I see you all the time," she put her arms around the girl's neck, "Let's not hide it from anyone. I care about you, and I don't care who knows, or who sees. They can just get over it."

"Except for you parents," Kennedy smiled.

"Except for my parents, who you must never touch me in front of," she said, horrified at the thought of having to talk to her mother about her 'new' relationship, "But any other time--" she blushed, as she leaned in to kiss, just as Isabel and Joyce were walking out of the kitchen.

"I didn't know it was that kind of party," Isabel grinned, as she walked past them.

Joyce on the other hand gave them a look, and they separated instantly, "I'm going to have to set new rules for you, Kennedy. Buffy gets no boys in the house if they're not out in the open; You get no girls in the house if you're not out in the open--where someone can see you at all times."

"I'll behave," Kennedy laughed. The two women walked into the living room, after pushing through streamers, and she turned back to Willow, who was bright red, "I could see how Isabel could be embarrassing, as a parent."

"Yeah, me to," Willow nodded. She looked over to the front door as it opened, "Wasn't Leah supposed to do some sort of knock--Aren't they late, I thought--" she stopped when she saw that it was Faith walking through the door, "It's your--Faith's here."

Kennedy turned to look, just as Buffy approached the other slayer, "I'll give them a minute."

"Hey, you made it," Buffy said, as she walked up to Faith, "You're late," she paused, "And, alone," she said taking the gift from the other slayer's hands, "Come on, we have to put all presents upstairs."

Faith started to follow the blonde, spotting Kennedy and Willow--who were now back to their closeness--hesitating for a moment, then she picked up the pace to catch up with the other slayer, skipping stairs as she climbed them, "Yeah, June's going to come a little later."

"So, she is coming," Buffy said, not turning to look at Faith.

"Yeah, she is. I hope that there isn't going to be a problem, or anything like that. I need everything to stay in control, tonight," she thought about what she was doing; the mission was set out on, and it didn't include having to break up any fights or arguments. She just needed to get through the party, and get answers, "You did tell Kennedy, right?"

"No," she opened the door to her mother's room, and then closed it when Faith followed her in, "Willow told her for me," she said, as she put the gift down with the others, "But I'm sure that she's not so happy with the surprise invite. I wasn't exactly happy about it."

"I thought we weren't going to do the whole jealousy. Friends don't get to do that," she crossed her arms.

"Actually they do, if new oddly mysterious, secretive, up to know good, girls to decide to steal this friend," she pushed some of the gifts aside, and sat down, as Faith went to lean against a wall, "I'm not jealous, anyways. I'm concerned, there's a difference," Faith huffed, "There is a difference, and I should be worried since you called me last minute talking about all these questions that you needed answered, and the only way to get them was to bring June here. I'm sorry if the thought of you only getting answers when she's in my house makes puts me a little on edge. Especially since I don't know the details on how the questions will be answered, since you refuse to tell me."

"I'm not refusing to tell you," she said, angrily, "I don't know how I'm going to get the fucking answers, either. All I know is that bringing her here will lead me to them, and if that means you get a little angry at me, I'm willing to deal with that. That's how bad I want to--No, how bad I need to get these questions answered, Buffy."

She frowned at hearing her whole name, "What's going on, Faith? You're not telling me something, here. This isn't going to get you into any trouble, or hurt, or anything like that, is it? 'Cause if it is, you should let me help you. Just tell me what's going on."

Faith looked down, "I don't think I can. Not until I know everything," she looked up, "But as soon as I know, I'll let you know. I promise, whether it's good or bad--Whether it means that you'll have to go after June, or not. I'll tell you, okay?"

"Fine," she stood up, "I'm counting on that, Faith."

A few minutes after the two slayers made their way back downstairs, Kennedy was finally ready to talk to her sister, but was stopped by the sound of Joyce calling out that Dawn and Leah were back, and that everyone needed to hide, or get the lights. They all hid behind anything they were standing by--Willow and Kennedy were next to the couch; Oz, Giles, and Cordelia were in the kitchen; Buffy and Faith were hid awkwardly behind a chair--that in no way hid them; to Xander's delight, he was hiding next to Isabel, who rolled her eyes when he smiled at her; and Joyce was--well, actually well hidden, as the too girls walked in.

"What was up with that weird knock?" Dawn asked, as she walked through the door, "What is stuff hanging from the door?" she asked, as she moved her hands in the air, "Are these streamers," her foot hit the edge of something, and stumbled, bumping into Leah, and therefore knocking the both of them over--Also, she landed on top of Leah, who had turned over just as the lights came on.

"Surprise!" everyone shouted, as they stood up from their places.

It wasn't until the flash of Buffy's camera, and the sound of it's click, that they looked down and saw the position the two girls were in--Dawn laying on top of Leah, who was looking up at her, with their faces inches apart.

Faith grinned, "Nice."

Kennedy just laughed, as the two girls stood up quickly, "Happy birthday," she smiled.

"Who's idea was it to turn the lights off?" Dawn asked, as she straightened her clothes.

"We didn't think you'd end up on top of my daughter," Isabel said, looking the two girl's over, "Usually there's a bed around for those types of things."

"Ah, Mom, don't say things like that," Leah groaned.

After recovering from the 'surprise' of seeing Dawn and Leah, the room went back to the party it was supposed to be. Everyone told Dawn happy birthday, and introduced themselves to Leah, who was still glaring at her mother--who Xander seemed to ogle every two seconds. They all resumed their conversations, and most got some pizza, since they had had to wait for Dawn's arrival to eat anything other than chips, and dip. Though, technically, most of the people there were Buffy's friends, with a few exceptions, Dawn was enjoying her so called surprise party, even after she had to recover from the embarrassment of her almost kiss with Leah in front of everyone--And the comment that the other girl's mother had made afterwards. She definitely saw the weirdness that Isabel--which is what she insisted to be called--carried around with her, along with the charm.

She looked at Leah, who was talking to Oz, "I'll be right back," she interjected, then she headed towards the kitchen. The hunger she had felt earlier had not been eased by the ice-cream she had eaten, so she was in need of more food, "Hey, Kennedy," she said, as she walked into the kitchen, "I think you've eaten enough, don't you?"

"No, I don't. I think that I need to eat more, actually," she smiled, "So you having fun so far? Has the whole day been amazingly magical?" she asked, sarcastically.

"I wouldn't go as far as magical," she grabbed a paper plate, and looked in multiple boxes until she found the pizza she wanted, "But I would definitely say interesting, and horrifying," she laughed sarcastically, "I have yet to tell you about my amazing day out with Leah, I had almost forgotten about it."

Kennedy laughed, "That bad?"

"Let me just tell you," she sat on a stool, "First, I have to walk around for hours, while Leah comes up with all kinds of excuses to go into all these stores--which I couldn't buy anything from--Then I got hungry, so she decided to finally give me a break, and take me to that ice-cream place."

"The one that you're never aloud to step foot again," Kennedy nodded.

"That's the one. Well, on the way there, Leah got all serious, and weird--which is nothing new since the top of my sexuality came up last night, after you left the room. Thanks for that, by the way," she smiled, "you're always there when I need you."

"That's me, Ms. Dependable," she said, returning the smile, "Keep going."

"So, she's all like, 'I need to talk to you about something,'" she imitated, "And she starts saying all this stuff about how much I mean to her, and how much our friendship means to me--"

"Uh, oh. Time to take the next stop. You ready for it?" she asked, teasingly.

"I was ready, after my bathroom self pep talk," she rolled her eyes, "Because I freaked out before she could get that far, and said I need to go to the restroom," Kennedy started laughing, "Laugh it up, I'm not even done yet. I finally get the nerve. I have what I'm going to say--a more cool response, after changing it from my abnormal girly one--and I walk out of the store, which had abnormally clean public restrooms, and guess who's out there--Your sister, and June," Kennedy frowned, "Exactly my thoughts, especially seeing the wrapped box in Faith's hand, which I of course assumed was for me, but June was just--She was all like, 'Oh, it's your birthday,' and she gave me ten bucks--I was happy to take the ten bucks really," she smiled, "But I still wasn't buying it. Darn me and my not believing. And so, she opened to show that it wasn't for me."

"What?"

"Yeah, she opened it. Guest what was in it--Handcuffs," Kennedy chocked on her food, "Yeah. Oh, and a whip. Obviously, the gift wasn't for me."

"I hope not," Kennedy said, as she grabbed something to drink, "Handcuffs, and a whip?"

"Yep, and the handcuffs were fluffy. According to June, those wouldn't leave marks that would to all kinds of questions. Once she was about to grab something else out of it, I stopped her, thank God, and pulled Leah away," she shrugged, "Not that I hadn't already been damaged for life. Leah's acting all weird for a minute, and eventually I ask her what she wanted to talk about earlier, to get her back on track, right?"

"And--" she pushed.

"And she said, 'It was nothing, don't worry about it,' and the subject was dropped."

"Ouch," she patted the girl on her shoulder, "She'll work up the nerve again, just give her some time. And, never tell me things like that about my sister, ever again. You also might want to tell Leah to steer clear of that topic while talking to your sister."

"Why would she be talking to Buffy?" she asked.

Kennedy shook her head, "No reason."

Leah saw Buffy walking towards her, and gulped. The blonde had that serious look on her face, the one that meant she was about to get a talk about what had happened earlier, and a threat that she'd get killed if she ever hurt Dawn. She looked back at her mom, who she had been talking to, "Don't leave me here with her," she pleaded. The woman started to walk away, "séjour ici!"

"Leah," Buffy said, as she approached, "I think we need to have a little talk."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, I know that I said this would be the final part, and there's only a tiny bit left in the chapter, but my whole family--including my brother and his messy family--are about to come over, so I have to get ready. Then, I don't know if I'll be able to post tomorrow, because I'm hanging out with a friend, so I'm giving this to you guys now. If I do get a chance to update tomorrow--The rest will be up. If I don't get a chance to, the next time I'll update, it'll be the rest of this chapter, along with the next chapter, so that's at least some goodness. As for the rest of the chapter; Buffy has a little talk with Leah, Kennedy and Faith talk, June arrives and everyone finds out that she knows Leah and Isabel, and some bad news is given to Kennedy after she returns from patrolling with Kennedy. I hope you guys enjoyed this part…I'm almost 100 sure I won't be updating tomorrow, but I got as much done as I possibly could considering the fact that people are suddenly stopping by, and I only got five hours asleep last night. I hope you liked it, thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

P.S. forgive me for any typos, please.


	28. No Surprises Please final

Hi, guys! I am so excited to finally really be able to break the lid off of this story. I can't explain how excited I am, not only in terms of my side plot, but also in terms of where I am in the season, and how close I am to the original chaotic part of the third season--my favorite season. I am literally bouncing up and down excited right now, not only to be posting the rest of chapter sixteen, but to also be giving you guys the beginning of seventeen (today or tomorrow), which I promise you will be just--I can't even describe. And then, eighteen--You guys will definitely enjoy, because it's going to be a tense time clock of events. I AM SO EXCITED! I have been planning this for weeks, now, and I finally get to give it to you guys, so this is great! I'm really just working my ass off to get the next two chapters up, before I have to start school, because I know that it's going to be a busy year for me--SENIOR YEAR!--but, I assure you, I will still be posting here for a while. I do have four more seasons to cover, so…yeah. Okay, well, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers, and I would like to just thank all of you for reading. I had no clue how much of a range of readers I had, until a different site started listing countries--in terms of hits, and stuff--that is so cool. Hi people who don't live in my country! I hope that all of you enjoy the rollercoaster I'm about to put you on, please avoid any vomiting, and please review. Thanks. -ThomThom

Chapter Sixteen: No Surprises (Please) (final)

Leah's eyes went wide. The fact that Buffy, sister of her newest friend, who she also thought was slightly psychotic wanted to have a 'little talk' with her. She thought of all the possible definitions for little; ranging from things relating to brothers, sisters, or both: to small in a pleasant or good looking way: to short or quick--None of them seemed to fit what she had a feeling she was about to get. She simply nodded, and followed the blonde outside, gulping when she heard the door close behind her. Once again, she cursed her mother, and then she took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever the older girl was going to throw at her.

Buffy went and leant on the post beside the porch steps, with a red plasitc cup in her hand, looking at the girl, who was obviously nervous, and sighed, "So, what's up with you and my sister?" she asked, calmly. She had decided, as soon as she thought of talking to the girl, that she would try her best to remain calm, and actually give Leah a chance to talk--Kennedy had convinced her that it would go better that way.

"What you mean?" she laughed, nervously, which didn't get her a good look from Buffy, "We're friends. We, uh, go to school together. Occasionally we go to places like the mall, or other places us teenagers like to visit. Then, there's the whole 'sleepover' thing, which…friends also do," she did her best to stay in her usual tone, to not show any sort of fretting, but the intense stare aimed in her direction was making it very difficult. She kicked the ground repeatedly, stuffed her hands in her pocket, then pulled them out and crossed her arms. For once, she could not remain her usual cool self.

"What do these 'sleepovers' entail?" the slayer asked, "I mean is it the traditional late night gossiping, and eating of junk food, or," she stood up straight, no longer using the post to support her, and took a slight step towards the younger teen, "are you trying to put the moves on my sister?"

"What?" she exclaimed, "No, I don't--I didn't…"

"Loss for words, for once. What about earlier? What was that almost kiss about?" before Leah could mutter a word, she continued, "Yeah, I saw that. You've been ogling my sister since the day you stepped foot in our house, if not before then."

"No," Leah shook her head, frantically, "I was not ogling her. Dawn's a nice, and I--But--"

"Oh, so she's not pretty enough, then? Not your usual type, huh? What, is she too smart?" she was loosing that calm, and floating into the land of the crazy, and she knew it, but it seemed like anything the girl said was only making it worse.

"No she--I mean, she is smart," she fumbled, "I don't have a type, or anything like that…she's pretty, but I wasn't--I didn't start talking to her so I could get in her pants," the moment she said that, she closed her eyes in regret, knowing that the only thing the blonde had most likely heard was the end of her sentence.

"Get in her pants!" she threw her cup down, "You little--"

"Hey," she raised her hands, "What's your problem? I'm trying to tell you that I wasn't--" she shook her head, frustrated by the fact that she was having trouble getting the words out, and fumbling she did, "Dawn is my friend, and that's all I wanted when I got here. I'm not the type to just let myself become friends with anyone, but…she's my friend," sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair, looking down for a moment. Her day, though it had had its good moments, wasn't what she had hoped it to be, and having the conversation that she was having wasn't making it any better, "My life hasn't been that great," she started, softly, "But it's gotten better lately," her eyes rose to meet to the blondes, searching for that bit of sympathy, that tiny sense of the fact that she was actually hearing her, "She's made it better."

"What do you want now?" Buffy questioned. Leah frowned in confusion, almost making her want to go back to her previous mood, but she remained calm--or at least slightly calm, "You said that you only wanted to be friends when you got here--What do you want, now?" the girl didn't answer, she just stood there looking at her, and once again kicking the ground. It was strange to see the side of Leah that she was seeing. There had never been any nervousness, loss for words, or anything like that before--It reminded her of someone, "If you hurt my sister--"

"I'm not going for anything more," she blurted, thinking of what she knew was about to come. If she was right, there would be no way of her even having a chance with Dawn, "We're just friends--Nothing more; nothing less."

Buffy nodded, moving to head back inside. She opened the door slightly, and then turned back to the girl, who was starting to follow her in, "Maybe you should tell her that," she suggested, "You seem to be thinking a little different--From what I saw," she opened the door, and started to take a step in, but was cut short by Faith stepping in front of her.

The brunette slayer, smiled, "Just goin' out for a smoke," she raised her hand, which held a cigarette, and moved to the side, so the two girls could walk in--When she saw it was Leah who was following Buffy in, she grinned at the girl, not only because of what had happened earlier, with the handcuffs and whip, but also because she knew that they had just had a talk about Dawn.

"You shouldn't smoke," Buffy said, walking past Faith. That was who it had been; who Leah had reminded her of. Not only did the girl resemble Kennedy, but she had that nervousness that Faith seemed to have when she was actually letting her emotions show--She had seen that side of her before. As her and Leah made their way back into the living room, Dawn and Kennedy giving them a look as they did, she no longer felt the need to constantly worry about her sister. Everyone had told her that Dawn was growing up. She figured it was time for her to face it.

Kennedy walked up to Buffy, as Leah went and rejoined the other guests, "How'd it go?" she asked, with a smile, "Please tell me you didn't humiliate the kid, with your weird overprotective thing that you do?"

"Nope, it was all good," the other girl gave her a look, "Okay, there might have been a moment of me going a little crazy, but I have every right," she declared, "Dawn is my sister, and Leah--Leah," she sighed, "I guess she's okay."

Kennedy smiled, in relief, "Yeah, she is," she looked towards the front door, "I guess I'm up."

"Ah yes," Buffy nodded, "Play nice, and take that listening advice you gave me," she looked over at Dawn, and Leah, who were laughing at God knows what, "It works."

"Right," she handed Buffy her drink, and headed for the door, smiling at Willow as she passed her. When Buffy and her had agreed to invite Faith to the party, she had decided it would be the night that she would finally make amends with her sister. It felt like it was the right time. Like everything that had been happening finally needed to be let go. Things had been a little weird for her, and she needed her sister back. She needed something that had always been there to be there again; something normal, and unchanged--Because, despite all the current drama, Faith had not changed, really. Who she saw as she walked out the door, was who she had always seen; someone who was stubborn, secretive, distant, and constantly on the run.

She closed the door behind her, "Hey."

Faith, who had been staring off into space, looked at her sister, at first not knowing what to say, even after such a simple 'hey' from the younger girl. There was so much she wanted to say, and needed to say, but she wasn't really sure it was the moment to do it--Or how exactly she was going to say all the things that needed to be said. Especially, seeing how difficult it was to respond to the 'hey' that was just sent in her direction. She took a puff of her cigarette, hoping that it would help calm her nerves, but of course it didn't, so she could only respond with one thing, "Hey."

Kenned leaned on one of the posts, just as Buffy had, and looked at Faith. She saw a seriousness in the her eyes that she hadn't seen before, along with a few obvious maturing in a few facial features. Like they had grown at an impossible rate since the last time they had spoken, "I'm glad you came," she said, sincerely.

"Yeah?" she questioned, "I wasn't too sure I was welcomed."

"Well…" she shrugged, letting the sentence trail off into nothingness. The fact that at one point her sister wouldn't have been welcomed was quite obvious, but still weird to think about. There had actually been a point in time where she hadn't wanted to see Faith ever again; that she didn't need to hear her voice, see her smile, or have her close by. The betrayal had been too much. It had hurt her in places she hadn't thought existed, but it had also shown her a part of herself that she hadn't wanted to see as well--The part of her that was also to blame, "You know, after Mom's--after Mom died, I kind of hated you."

Those words caught her off guard, nearly to the point where her body went limp. Part of her knew it was true, but to actually hear it come from the girl's lips; to hear her actually say it, and with such ease--All the guilt she had felt came back. She had hated herself after what had happened; had done things to herself, because she thought she deserved whatever she got. She had hurt herself in all the ways Kennedy wouldn't hurt her, but had wanted to in her heart--or that's what she thought, "Kenn--"

"I think," she said, cutting her sister off, "I think that's when it all started, you know? Like, all this stuff that's going on, with June, and with Rachel--That wasn't why I was I was mad at you. I understand those things, though I sure as hell don't approve," she admitted, "I know why you do the things you do. I've always known. It was just that after what had happened, I couldn't push myself to see your side of things, anymore. All I saw was that you were a screw up. That you constantly act without thinking. You're impulsive in all the wrong ways," she laughed, slightly, "But you've always been like that, and in some ways, so am I sometimes. It's who we are; it's in our blood. I just lost sight of that--I forgot about the fact that you were hurting, too."

"It's no excuse for what I did--Not with Rachel," snuffing her cigarette out, needing her hands to be empty for some reason, and looked away from her sister. Topics like the one they were talking about weren't her type of conversation. It made her feel exposed; naked, and spread bare. But, she knew that everything had to be said, even if it did make her uncomfortable. Kennedy was putting herself out there, so she had to do the same, "No matter what I've done in the past, how stupid it was, or dangerous, there was always one rule--Don't hurt Kennedy. Don't hurt the one person who stood by you even after--after what happened. When I hurt you, I felt you slip away from me, and everything else just didn't matter anymore. I didn't matter; no one…nothing. You hating me after what happened, I get that. I hated myself, but what I did--Whether you were cheating, or Buffy hurt me, or whatever else was going on in our fucking dramatic lives…that shouldn't have happened. I should have gone to you, not her. But I just--I've just felt so alone since--"

"I know," she paused, "But I let us slip apart. When things used to go wrong, we always stuck together, and I didn't let that happen this time. I went in every other direction but yours," she stuffed her hands in her pockets, and crossed her ankles, trying to relax as much as possible, "As usual, we both screwed up in some way--I'm not mad anymore, Faith--I don't blame you."

Faith looked away from her sister, sighing loudly to hold back any tears that might even attempt to fall, "That makes one of us," she mumbled. She pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and placed it between her lips, "The fact that it was my fault…that won't change, but I'm glad that you've…that you've let it go."

She nodded, understanding why her sister couldn't let the death of their mother go. Knowing she would feel the same if it had been her, "So, everything else that's happened over the last few months--It's forgotten. The thing with Rachel--Well, she had every right. Our relationship was over. Then, this thing with June--I get what she does for you; exactly what Willow does for me."

"What is that exactly?" she asked, laughing slightly, "'Cause I'm not really too sure what June does for me. Right now she just confuses the shit out of me…I don't who she is, Kenn. I didn't realize that really until today."

"Then, why do you talk to her? Among other things," she adding, raising her eyebrows for a moment. It was a question she had wondered about herself, for a while. What was it about June that made her so easy to let in; to trust, when all things should have been set against her. Even when she had met the girl, she hadn't thought to second guess the girl's motives. She seemed honest, and fair, but when she really thought back--having begun to question the girl's identity--she could see the strangeness in their becoming friends, even for the short time they were. It was no question to the school that she had an issue with girls that were messed with, especially by their own boyfriends, but the immediate closeness and trust, was something she could no longer explain. It was as if a light had been turned on in the dark, and she questioned her surroundings repeatedly with the light, but questioned in the dark, as she usually would.

Faith thought about the question, thinking of what had been going on earlier that day, as well as the last few days. There were the times that had been good with June; the times they had laughed, and joked with each other, along with the moment that she let herself be completely vulnerable. Then, there was the other times; when they had argued, when she abandoned her, the magic that the other girl had used on her. Somehow, even thinking of all the bad, she found herself not being able to label the girl as her enemy; her target. Yet, some part of her questioned her without a doubt. It just didn't over shadow the other thoughts in her mind.

"There's just something about her," she finally managed, "The way she is with me--I don't really get it ya know, but it never changes really. It's like she sees straight through all my bullshit--All of the baggage. And, even when I hurt her," she thought of how she had left the girl the night after they had had sex, and the fact that she took the book that did not belong to her, lied about it, and then used it in order to get her own questions answered, "Even I when I hurt her," she repeated, "She doesn't give up on me. She might yell, and stuff like that, but at the end of it…we're laughing again. No matter what, she can always make me laugh. I don't think anyone else has ever done that for me, except for--"

"Mom," Kennedy finished. It was in that moment, that no matter how much she didn't trust June, or how much the girl seemed to lie to them--There was bit of leeway given to the mysterious blonde. She had not stopped questioning her motives, identity, or anything else, but--after hearing what she had just heard--she had to at least open her mind to the possibility. It was up to June to make her way in, and not have it be closed again. In that moment, the plate was cleared…or partially cleared. She went over to her sister, put a smile on her face that hadn't been there in a while, and outstretched her arms, "Come on. You know you've missed them."

Faith laughed, while she put out her cigarette. Taking a few steps forward, she rolled her eyes, as Kennedy pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly, "Christ, you sure you're just a normal kid?" she asked, returning the hug with the same amount of force, "Two months out of seventeen years ain't bad, I guess," she smiled, as they let go of another.

Kennedy however, frowned at what her sister had just said. No, it wasn't the whole sarcastic 'ain't so bad' that was getting to her, it was the time--Two months. She thought back to earlier that day, morning really, whispering what she had said to Isabel, "Six or seven months."

"That would have been pretty bad," Faith said, thinking that her sister was naming an amount of time that would have made a big difference, "Good thing we settled this before that, huh?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Good thing."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

From inside, Willow had been watching the two sisters, holding her breath as she did. It had been calmer than she thought; no yelling could be heard through the glass of the window, or over anyone inside talking. There had seemed to be an easiness to it. One that she hadn't expected, and assumed she was misreading. There was no way, after everything that had happened, that they simply made up without any sort of painful rehashing of the past. Though, from her view, she could only see Faith, and so there was a possibility that the girl was just hiding her emotions very well--she had caught a moment, though. A moment when Faith looked away from Kennedy, and seemed to sigh. That told her something was happening--The hug however, set it in stone; they were fine.

She turned away from the window, her glance unfortunately landing directly on Oz, who seemed to be watching her, even if he were trying to hide it. All night, she had been avoiding him. Making sure they weren't left alone at any time, preferably not even in the same conversation. It seemed that there could be no more hiding, though, he was walking towards her. Her first thought was to run, but she knew it would have been a little too dramatic, and also gotten everyone's attention, so she instead walked away, heading towards the kitchen. He, of course, followed. It was, after all, the night for reconciliation--So it seemed.

With her back still to him, she did her own version of a breathing exercise to keep herself from going into a panic, but once she reached the kitchen, and was on the other side of the island as the boy, she put on a strong face, "Did you want to say something?" she asked. It wasn't in his nature to yell, or even show that he was angry past his usual walking away, or asking for space, but for once she expected emotion. For once, she wanted to see it more plainly.

He had been spotting them all night; the couple talking in corner, holding hands as they walked out, or into, a room, sneaking little pecks here and there. All of it, he had seen, and said nothing really, but it all seemed to him that they were rubbing it in. Somehow, a jealousy had crept over him, unexpectedly, "You guys seem to be working out okay," he said, still in his usual way of speaking; seemingly calm, but full underneath.

There was no question what he was saying, she knew him. They had, after all been together for over a year before it really ended. She knew what he was saying when he was unable, or unwilling, to speak bluntly, "We're not going to hide the fact that we're together, Oz. I've asked you to forgive me, and to try to let me become a friend to you, but you've pushed me away--You said no, and so I don't see the point in not putting everything I've got into my relationship with Kennedy."

"I didn't say no, Willow. I said that I needed some space. You're the one that hasn't been patient enough to wait for me to make my decision. You can't expect me to just want to be friends with you, instantly. That would mean that I would have to completely just let everything go, and I can't do that."

"And, I get that, but--" she heard the sound of Kennedy's voice, letting her know that her and Faith had come back inside, and waited for her to walk by, or poke her head into the kitchen. When she did, they looked at each other for a moment, speaking more with their eyes than they would have been able to say, and then Kennedy nodded, and left the room. She turned back to Oz, "What's the point? What am I going to do, act like I'm not with her every time we pass you in the hallway?"

"You're not even trying to help me, here. It's hard to see you with her, don't you get that? Right now, you're just not even considering that. You're not being that sympathetic Willow, I know, and--"

"Oz," she cut in, "Kennedy--She's had a hard life, you know? She's had a lot of things happen to her over the last few years, and I have put her aside so many times. It was me that wasn't there for her when she needed me most. I'm the one who couldn't be depended on when her mother died. She's forgiven me for that, and I'm not going to give anything the chance to push us apart now. Lately, she's stepped forward--She put herself out there, letting everything else go. I have to the same," she explained, "For someone like her--That's what she needs."

"What about me?" he asked, "What about what I need? Do you even care?"

"Of course I care," she said, sincerely, "You'll always mean a lot to me--I'll always care about you, but--" here she stumbled, unable to find the words, or to even begin, "There's something between us, but what her and I have--It's something I can't explain. I want everything to be okay with us, Oz, but I can't stop living in hopes that you'll one day forgive me…when you might not."

He nodded, "Okay."

She watched him as he moved to leave, part of her saddened by what had just been said, but the other part knowing that there was no other way to move forward. Her world had changed immensely, but all in ways--from what she could see--they were meant to, and probably should have been changed the year before. With a sigh of relief, she turned to leave the kitchen, knowing that yet another thing had been resolved, though without a good outcome. She spotted Kennedy, and headed in her direction, giving Buffy a quick smile as she passed her.

Buffy, who had seen Oz walk out of the kitchen, and had been a little afraid when Willow had followed, turned to Giles, and frowned, "Did you say something?" she asked.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Yes, I did. I was telling you that it'd be a good idea to go patrolling later tonight, after the party. I know that it's your sister's birthday, and all, but I truly feel--"

"Right. I had already planned to go anyways," he looked at her, obviously surprised by what she had said, "Hey, don't look so shocked. I patrol all the time, whether you tell me to or not," she put her hands on her hips, "Kennedy and I are gonna go as soon as this thing starts winding down. Speaking of, when's the whole cake thing happening," she searched the room for her mother, who was nowhere to be found, and settled upon Isabel, who was sitting on the couch, "Ooh, I'll ask Isabel. She might know."

"Ah, yes, Ms. Fryer," he said, looking at the woman, who was talking to her daughter.

Buffy frowned, turning back to him, "I hope you didn't call her that."

"I did," Buffy laughed at him, making him wonder if he had been left out of a joke. It seemed that no one liked to be called formally by their last names anymore, besides him, a few teachers, and a few other adult he knew. The aging, seemed to not want to age, "She was very upset by it. In fact, when I was actually trying to compliment her on her land back in France--that is really her husbands, I learned--she got even more upset, and said a few things to me in French."

"She's kind of like that. One minute she's talking to you in English, the next thing you know she's off into French, and you have no clue what she's saying. Well," she smiled, "I'm just gonna go ask her what's going on."

He frowned as she practically skipped away, "I know French very well, actually."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith walked into the kitchen, "Do you need some help?" she asked, seeing Joyce struggling to get the candles on the cake lit, "I've got a lighter," she said, taking it out of her pocket.

Joyce sighed, frustrated, "Thank you, Faith," she sighed. She moved aside, letting the brunette light the candles herself, "You shouldn't smoke, you know. It's bad for you," the woman said, watching as the slayer lit the candles one by one.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately," she laughed, "In fact Buffy just told me the same thing. Just as I walked out to light another one," she smiled, "No worries, these lungs still got a few clean spaces left. Plenty of room for another pack…or fifty. It's all about portion."

"I think that's only with food," she thought aloud.

"Maybe," Faith shrugged, "I don't keep up with those types of things," she put her lighter back in her pocket, "There you go. Need anything else?" she offered.

"There's a big thing of ice-cream in the freezer, if you don't mind grabbing it. Then, I'm having a hard time finding the scooper. If you could look under that cabinet, over there," she pointed across the kitchen, "that'd be great. I think Buffy's been putting things in the wrong places," she continued, as Faith began to make her way through the kitchen, "Nothing seems to be where it's supposed to be."

"I get that," the slayer huffed, "She means well, though. Her idea of helping is a little different than most peoples. Usually, there's a bit of lecturing involved. But, if you make it through the dull parts, there's always something useful in 'em. Maybe that's why her and Kennedy get along so well," she went over to the next cabinet, which was a bottom cabinet, and started to push the pots and pans about, "They've both got a thing for speeches."

"Hmm," Joyce got out some birthday plates out--which simply said, happy birthday, instead of being covered with some Disney princess--and set them next the cake, and ice-cream, "These candles really don't melt. I'm glad, they took forever to find."

"Nah," she pushed some more things aside, "they melt. It just takes them a bit of time. My Mom used to get those all the time. Kennedy and I would grab a few at night, take them outside, see how long they woulf take to melt. We've got about ten minutes left--If you got the right ones. If Buffy got them, they're probably gonna burst into flame in about two seconds," she laughed.

Joyce laughed, too, unable to deny the fact that it was true, "Luckily for everyone who doesn't want to die in a flaming house, I bought them," she lifted her head a bit, trying to catch a glimpse into the cabinet Faith was looking in, "Gosh, I hope that I won't have to use a regular spoon."

"Just give me a second, I'll find it," she assured, "It's the least I can do, since Buffy even invited me."

The woman scratched her head, not really knowing if she should step into the territory she was about to step in, but she did anyways, "Is there something going on--Between you and Buffy."

Faith went to stand quickly, hitting her head as she did, and cursing the fact that she hit her head--Then she cursed the fact that she cursed. Once she was finally on her feet, she turned to the woman, who was blowing the candles out--to her absolute horror--and pulling them out of the cake, "I uh, uh--" she started, watching as the woman pulled out a different box, and started to put a new batch of candles on the cake, "We--"

"A yes or no would suffice," the woman said,

"It's just that--Why would you ask me that?" the slayer questioned.

The woman shrugged, "Just a hunch. I know my daughter more than she thinks I know her," she glanced up at the girl, who started to rub her head again, and then looked back at the cake, "The question, Faith."

"No, we're not together," she said, oddly.

Joyce smiled, "I didn't ask you that, but you just answered the question," she lifted her hand in the girl's direction, "Could I use your lighter?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

After a few more moments of awkwardness, Faith managed to find the ice-cream scooper, which had been in the refrigerator, for some reason, and her and Joyce took the cake an ice-cream out into the living room--along with the help of Isabel, who crabbed the plates, and forks, and spoons. They all sand happy birthday to the girl, putting aside all of their other thoughts, and conflicts. They had all come together, not to resolve anything, but to celebrate the fact that it was Dawn's birthday. That they all got to see the girl live another year, and grow into the young woman she was becoming--though, in Buffy's opinion, she wouldn't be a woman until she was thirty-five. Dawn had grown a lot, after all. She wasn't just some whinny teenager following her older sister around--even if she did still do that. She was mature beyond her years, and they all knew it. Buffy, and Kennedy knew it especially, as they thought about all the advice the girl hadn't given them.

All of them talked, and made jokes, bring up embarrassing parts of her past, which only embarrassed her more, seeing that Leah and Isabel where there. It was like nothing had ever changed; no one was fighting, or thinking of what had been happening. The candles had snuffed out their worrying flames, and brought about a new one that set in stone that things were going to be fine, despite all of the recent drama. Cordelia spared Xander a smile when he got ice-cream on his nose; Buffy didn't try to kill Leah when she thought the girl was hugging her sister a little too passionately; Isabel didn't try to kill Giles when he called her by her last name, yet again; Kennedy helped Oz when he almost dropped his plate, and he thanked her; Faith helped Willow carry some of the presents from Joyce's room--Everyone put on smiles, and didn't let anything distract them from what was actually going on. That is--until the doorbell rang.

Leah was the one who yelled that she would answer it, setting her cup down on a table, as she ran to the door. It wasn't until hand touched the knob, after tearing down the rest of the streamers, that she knew who was standing outside. The smile on her face faded, and the feeling of joy went along with it, once she saw the blonde girl, "June," she said, flatly.

"Leah," June returned.

The girl stepped out, closing the door gently behind her, knowing that everyone inside would be too occupied to notice how long she was taking--minus her mother of course--She looked the blonde over again, all the anger and confusion from earlier rising, along with some anger about a few other things, "June," she said, again.

The blonde laughed harshly, feeling the girl build herself, "Leah," she said, more sternly. Suddenly, she felt herself being tackled to the ground, to her surprise, not even seeing the girl take a single step. They tumbled around for a bit, going back and forth from an advantaged position. There was no way she was really going to fight the girl, especially outside a house full of people who either despised her, didn't trust her, or would stop trusting her if she hurt the girl. She pushed her away from her, getting the upper hand for just a moment, and stood up, putting her hand up to stop the girl from coming at her again, "Wait," she said, slightly out of breath--something she hadn't really expected, "Just stop."

Leah straightened her clothes, as she tried to catch her breath, "This is such bullshit," she said, angrily, "It's not fair," she yelled.

"Shh," June urged, "Keep your voice down. Just calm down."

"It's not fair," she said, again, "No one ever tells me anything. I thought that I'd finally been given a chance--That we were really going to just settle in like a normal family this time. I should have known better," she spat, "The both of you are full of shit, and I'm forced to deal with all of it, without uttering a fucking word. What about me, and my life? What about what I want? Does it even matter? When I saw you here, I just pushed it all aside, let myself be naïve, just so I could have a bit more time. I guess my time's up."

June ran her fingers through her hair, fixing it as best she could without a brush, "You don't know then?" she asked. The girl shook her head, "Where's Gisele?" she asked, nailing the accent, and way of saying the name--It wasn't the first time she had had to say it, after all, and she knew it would not be the last.

"Inside, waiting for you, but she's going by Isabel again, so--" the girl said, angrily. June started to walk past her, but she grabbed her arm, "Is this it?" she asked, "Is it over?"

She turned to the girl completely, "It'll never be over. Not for your Mom--Not for you," she could see it in the girl's face as she said, the comings of emotions, and she pulled her into a hug, knowing that all of the anger wasn't towards her--It was towards who they were, and what it all meant. That pain, she understood--She felt it, too, "But I'm trying, Leah. I really am."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

In the kitchen, Buffy, Dawn, and Kennedy were eating the last bit of the pizza, though they had just eaten cake and ice-cream. It was like they had been in competition with each other all night. Eating as much as they possibly could, while laughing at the fact that they knew they'd all be sick later.

"This all turned out pretty well," Dawn admitted, "I was a little worried, 'cause you guys weren't really good with the secret planning, and Buffy overeducated, leading me to the most humiliating moment of my life--But, it turned out to be a great birthday after all."

"I'm glad," Buffy smiled, "And don't go blaming my decoration skills for your thing with Leah. It had nothing to do with me. I'm great decorator."

"Right," Kennedy said, sarcastically, "Just remind me not to ever leave glitter, or confetti in your presence again. Really not what usually like to add to a drink."

"That was not my fault," the blonde said, shaking her head, "That was Isabel."

Kennedy swallowed the bit of food in her mouth, quickly, "What's up with the two of you? It's ridiculous. All of the laughing; and weird confetti throwing; the decoration contest--"

"You looking over at her every two seconds," Dawn added, "Seriously Buffy. I don't think you can ever say anything about Kennedy's mom perving habits ever again."

"There was no perving involved," Buffy defended, "We just get along. She's funny--It was all her idea. I just agreed to go along with it. As for you accusing me of ogling--" she said, looking at her sister, "You seem to be the expert in that activity. I'm sure that you've been staring at Leah all night."

Kennedy laughed, having noticed it, too, "You've both been staring."

"Don't get me started on you and Willow," Dawn raised her eyebrows, "Where have the two of you been disappearing to? One minute--"

"The few you're not looking at Leah," Kennedy added.

Dawn smiled sarcastically, "Funny…Anyways, one minute you're there, the next you're not. Then, when I see you again, it's all smiles a blushes. You've got to be worse than the both of us combined. Wait," she paused, a mischievous smile making its way onto her lips, "I believe that Buffy's been staring at two people all night."

"Hmm," Kennedy nodded, "That's right. She's been drooling over my sister, too."

"Hey! There has been no drooling over Faith. We're friends, and friends don't drool over each other…at least not when they're actually just friends, which is exactly what we are. You guys are just trying to focus this on me, 'cause you're the ones really out there staring, and drooling, while I'm having conversations with friends, and Isabel."

"She's not a friend of yours now?" Kennedy teased, "You seemed awfully chummy, to me," she looked around her for a moment, "Hey, where's Leah?" she wondered, "The doorbell rang, and she never came back. Is she doing some kind of stripper surprise thing?"

"You wish," the youngest girl said, rolling her eyes. She walked out of the kitchen for a moment, going to the nearest window to look outside at the front yard, then she walked back into the kitchen, where Buffy and Kennedy were still laughing, and eating, "She's outside talking to June."

Both the other girl's almost chocked on their food, "What?" they asked, in unison.

Dawn went to sit on a stool, pulling her plate in front of her as she did, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. They know each other," she shrugged, "Leah's aunt knew June's uncle, or something like that. Leah said she hadn't recognized June before--" she hesitated, seeing they didn't know about her mail runs, "because she was so little when they met. I guess June recognized her when we bumped into them earlier."

"You bumped into them--Who's them?" Buffy questioned.

"Faith, and June," Dawn said, as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Kennedy pushed threw what she had just been told, thinking about the fact that she had thought to give June a chance, and the fact that she had convinced Buffy to give Leah a chance--Not to mention the weirdness of Isabel suddenly taking an interest enough to randomly stop by, and get along with everyone, "How did you forget to tell me this? You tell me about the handcuffs and whip, but not about the fact that two new people in our town just happen to have some relation to June."

Buffy frowned, "Handcuffs. Whip. Wait--"

"They're not related," Dawn corrected, "Some old people know each other, big deal. It's not like they've been all mysterious like June. No bad things have happened since they've showed up, minus the swallowing of confetti. It's not like they're all witches plotting to end the end the world."

"Witches," Kenned thought for a moment, "That would explain the sugar."

"And the sprinkle thing," Buffy added, thinking of her weirdest moment with Isabel, which she had just thought was a coincidence.

Dawn and Kennedy frowned, "What sprinkle thing?"

Buffy, having remembered that she hadn't told them about it, laughed nervously, "Oh, uh…she put the sprinkles on the cupcakes--perfectly. Like, whoa, impressive," she said, stupidly.

Dawn smiled, "You guys made me cupcakes, too. I love cupcakes," she got up from her seat, "I'm gonna head back in before mom figures out that I'm still eating, and decides I can't open my presents, or some crazy thing like that."

They watched the girl go, and then Kennedy turned to the blonde, "Buffy, we didn't get her any cupcakes, or make her any either."

"Well," she folded her arms, "we should have."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Since Buffy and Kennedy are going patrolling tonight, I thought I'd help with the cleaning once this is all over," Willow said, as she stood next to Faith, who seemed awfully quiet. They had never talked much, but it was odd that the brunette slayer was not even making some inappropriate joke, or anything like that. She hadn't even made a single comment about Isabel, who it seemed everyone else had at least said one thing about, "I figured they might be tired afterwards, so--"

"Don't you have a curfew, or something?" Faith asked, "I used to have a curfew. Didn't really follow it, but--You seem like the rule abiding type. Other than the dating my sister thing, which I'm sure your parents don't know about."

"No, they don't know," she looked away, and then turned back to the slayer, "But I do plan to tell them…eventually…once I've moved out preferably. I hadn't really thought about the curfew issue, though. I'm sure if I just gave them a call--"

"Don't worry about it. I'll stay here and help with the cleaning, that way you won't even have to call. The best way to guarantee a semi-chance of not completely pissing off your parents when you're about to deliver news that they definitely won't approve of--Like, say, dating a girl for example--is to suck up completely before you break it to them. Before you have to explain that it's not your fault that you can't legally get married, or that it might be a little difficult to have kids, but being gay is--"

"I'm not gay," the redhead blurted.

Faith laughed, "Right," she winked, "Like I was saying--You suck up like no other. Wash the dishes, clothes, whatever. But most of all, don't break curfew. It's a dead give away that something they don't about is going on."

"I did get in trouble that one time," Willow remembered, "When Kennedy stood me up."

"Whoa, and you're still dating her. Pfft, that's when you give her a reality check," she nodded.

"It was when you got back into town after the whole, slapping slayer thing," she further explained.

"Oh, well then, that was my fault. This will be like a repayment, or whatever. I'll help clean so you won't miss curfew, and to make up for dragging my sister into an alley," the girl gave her a questioning look, "Don't ask," she smiled, "Scared the shit out of her though. Pretty funny--Probably not to her."

"No, I'm sure it wasn't," she saw the front door opening and frowned, "Hey, who's--?" once she saw who was walking in, the lump in her throat that had been there before the party returned--Meaning, she was once again worrying. The sight of the blonde, strangely followed by Leah, made her search the room for Kennedy, who was nowhere to be found to her delight. That way, she could go and warn her of the new arrival, "Excuse me," she said, walking away quickly, passing by Xander as she did.

"Hey," he said, trying to get her attention, but she just kept walking.

Cordelia laughed, "Guess even the girl you actually love doesn't want to give you the time of day."

He gave her a look "Why you here, again?" he asked.

"Hello, I was invited. Why are you here? Who cares that you've been friends with Buffy forever, if you can't even afford to get Dawn a decent gift. What a waste of space you are, walking around drooling over Leah's mom. You're so--"

Faith, who was heading in June's direction, looked at the two arguing teens, and rolled her eyes, "Why don't you both shut the fuck up, we're at a kids birthday party," she said, only loud enough for them to hear, and walk away from each other, as she continued on her way. Once she was close enough to June, and Leah was walking away, she could see the expression on the girl's face clearly, "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

June looked past Faith, into the living room, only seeing the legs of the woman she had been told was waiting for her, but she knew it was her. She could feel her, hear her, smell her even. Her heart quickened its pace, and began to panic before her mind could even think to. After a moment, she looked back to Faith, "I'm fine," she said, quietly, not even convincing herself.

Faith of course knew it wasn't true, she could see it written all over the younger girl, who looked away from her the moment she opened her mouth to say something. She lifted her hand, and made the girl turn back to her, "You're not fine," she looked her over, "Are you shaking?"

"Faith," she said, aggressively, "I'm fine."

"You know the whole not being able to bullshit goes both ways, right? You know when I'm a wreck underneath, and right now, I know that you are," the girl looked away from her again, frustrating her, "June, come on. Why can't you just tell me what's wrong? What's going on with you, lately?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little stressed. There's just been a lot of stuff going on, and I'm--I'm just having a hard time dealing, okay? It's no big deal, I just need some time--There's not enough time," she mumbled.

Faith looked around, and then took a step closer to the blonde, "Do you just want to go?" she asked, sincerely. June looked up at her; her eyes full of confusion and shock, but Faith had meant it--despite her mission, "If you want to just go, we can. It's no big deal, you've missed the cake and ice-cream anyways."

"Did I?" she asked, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so late, really. There's just a few things I had to take care of, before I came here. Then, I wasn't so sure it was a good idea to come, considering how much everyone hates me here," she shrugged her shoulders, lifting her hands slightly, "Everything's just so hard right now. It doesn't seem right. I get up every day, and something new just seems to pile on, pushing me further and further down."

"I'm sure I'm not helping," Faith sighed. She put her hands on the girl's shoulders, and looked her in the eyes, "But hey, things will get easier. Sometimes, life just sucks, you know? Especially if you're all secretive, and won't really let anyone in--At least that's what my old therapist used to say…or was that Kennedy? Maybe it was Buffy."

June laughed, "Probably all three."

"Probably," she smiled, "This is a party. Nothing from out there," she gestured towards the door, "can come in here tonight. So get out of this fuckin' downer of a mood, or you'll ruin it for the rest of us, alright? I'm serious, don't start with all the smiles. That only leads to grins and flirting with you, and that ain't such a good idea here. PDA is only for my sister and Red, apparently," she said, taking her hands off the girl's shoulder, "No touching."

"Now see, since you've said it, you know I have to, now. I mean, you basically just set a rule in front of me, here," she grinned.

"See, you're grinning. Quit that, that's my territory in these parts," she laughed, "Seriously though, you okay? We could go, I mean I'm not one for kiddy parties anyways."

"You just ruined it," June laughed. Faith started to say something, "No, you did the whole cheering me up thing, and now you've just reminded me that I don't want to be here. I guess I'll just have to go then," she said, going to put her hand on the doorknob, but Faith's hand was on her arm before she reached it, "That qualifies as touching."

"Not our kind of touching--You and me think on a different level, they're going to have to except that," she said, jokingly, "Come on," she put her arm over the girl's shoulder, "I'll get you something to eat, if you're hungry. If you're not, you can just tag along with me while I get something. They don't have beer, though."

June laughed, "How sad for you."

"I know. What kind of party is this? No beer no party," she smiled. When she looked over her shoulder to see Buffy, and Kennedy looking at them, she gave them a quick no--to one meaning that she hadn't lost sight of the promise she had made, and the other an understanding of what she was doing.

Buffy turned to Kennedy, "Do you think we should worry more, now that we know about this whole coincidental family meet up in Sunnydale?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, yet," she admitted, for once not jumping to conclusions.

Willow walked up to them, seeing their serious expressions, "You saw her, didn't you? I tried to find you, but obviously I didn't make it in time, from the serious faces you two are wearing."

"It's okay, we're not really thinking of her arrival, so much as the fact that she seems to know our new somewhat neighbors; Leah and Isabel. There's some thing where somebody's aunt knew someone's uncle. Buffy and I aren't convinced them all showing up is just a coincidence."

"It does sound rather suspicious," the redhead looked over at Isabel, who was sitting along at one of the couch, seeming to stare into space, "I hope that nothing's going on, though. That would be really bad for Dawnie."

"I think she's already entered the stages of denial," Buffy said, looking over at her sister, who was of course talking to Leah. After giving the girl a chance, it was seeming that maybe it hadn't been such a good after all. She wasn't saying that they were all evil--Dawn had been right in terms of sarcasm on that one--The problem was that she didn't know what to think at all. Not only of Leah, but of Isabel either, "Do you think it's possible though? That they're all in on something?"

"Not really gonna go that far just yet," Kennedy said, taking her girlfriend's hand, "I told myself I'd give June a chance, and I'm still going to try to stick with that. Then, Leah seems pretty innocent in all of this, in my opinion. Isabel is a different story."

"Well, I hope," Willow said, as June and Faith entered the room, "things are just gonna be plain and simple coincidence this time--for all of our sakes."

Before June entered the room completely, she stopped bending down to tie the show she had magically untied, so it what she was really doing wouldn't be obvious--There was no way she could explain why she bowed before entering a room, just as Isabel seemed to rise, and then sit back down. She looked over at Leah, who was no longer listening to the ongoing chatter of Dawn, but was instead looking at her. They had come to an understanding of a sort, which she had planned to uphold completely. There would be no confrontation whatsoever while they were in the Summers house, plain and simple.

"June," Isabel explained, rising completely from the couch, "It is you, isn't it? You've grown so much since the last time we saw each other, uh, where was it?" she went over to the girl, and wrapped her arms around her in delight, but when no one could see her face, it turned serious--no smile, or any sense of emotion at all, "We need to talk," she whispered, knowing just how quiet it had to be so the two slayer's in the room could no hear.

June pulled out of the hug, plastering a smile on her face as well, "It was in France, at the Fryer house. Wow, I can't believe you're here, and speaking English. What a shock, you hate the English."

Giles, who was watching the two of them just like everyone else in the room, "Well that explains a lot."

"I don't hate the English," Isabel smiled, "I hate my husband, there's a difference."

Leah rolled her eyes, "Mom, really?"

Xander leaned towards Oz, "She's married?"

"Guess so," the boy said, with a nod.

Faith looked between them, "You two know each other?" she asked. There was that questioning again--The questions that she had temporally put aside, but now begun to resurface. It was, after all, the night all of her questions would begin to receive answers. This so called 'coincidence' might have been part of it.

"Oh, I've known her since she was a little girl," the woman explained, "My sister, uh what is it--in law, and best friend, was very close with her uncle."

The brunette slayer frowned, "The dead one?"

Leah frowned at the slayer's bluntness, "Yes, his name was Jam--"

"Yes, the dead one," June interjected, "We can catch up later, though, right? I mean, we're at a birthday party, and so--"

"Yes, of course, later," she said, taking her seat back on the couch.

The room started to pick up again, as the conversations regained their momentum. Faith looked over at her sister, who was giving her a knowing look--Her mind was back on track. No matter how June sometimes made her feel, she was of no doubt hiding something from all of them. Leah had confirmed it by just beginning to say June's uncle's name--James Raimundo Rico-Finmere, the so happened name that was in the 'magic' book. She could already see the lines between her questions and answers being drawn, and now that she knew there was something to actually find, she was ready to look, at all costs. For her sister.

Joyce went to stand by Giles, a frown on her face, "Do you feel like you've been left out on something going on, here?"

"Yes," he looked at Isabel, "I believe we have been."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Well, that was pretty much useless," Buffy said, as her and Kennedy rounded back towards her house, "I can't believe there's absolutely no activity tonight, and it's been slow for a while really. Guess that means another apocalypse is really coming after all."

"With everything that's going on, that's not shocking," they were both silent for a moment, and then she began to talk again, "Do you think we should be worried? There was some weirdness back there--"

"I know," Buffy thought about how the party had gone after the whole 'reunited' fest, "Isabel seemed like, maybe, she intimidated June. I mean, I know she's intimidating, but from the moments I thought I was going to fight June, she's never backed down."

Kennedy laughed, "Trust me, I know all about that. The only thing is, who do we need to worry about, then? June, or Isabel? And what about Leah? She seemed pretty quiet after June showed up, so maybe she's got nothing to do with this, but what if she does?"

"Then, I'm going to break her like a twig," the slayer said, with a nod, "That's exactly what I'm going to do…after I find out what's going on."

"Right, 'cause you always go in that order--Then, there's Faith," she said, a bit saddened.

Buffy noticed, "I don't really think we need to worry about Faith. We've got this deal, right now, so if June is really up to something, I have a feeling we'll find out soon, and your sister won't be a problem."

"Why am I left out of this deal?" Kennedy questioned, "Is it possibly because you two have some weird thing going on, again, and you're just keeping it a secret?"

"There's no thing. We're just trying out this whole friendship thing, and that comes with trust, and honesty. Plus, there's obviously something with her and June--which will totally not get in the way of our semi-secret deal--" she added, seeing Kennedy's expression, "They had this hand thing, did you see the hand thing?"

"I saw the hand thing, but it could have been nothing," she said, hoping that maybe it was just nothing, but from what Faith had said to her earlier, there was a chance that it was way more than nothing. The deal that Faith had with Buffy--she wasn't sure that was enough, from what she'd been told.

They walked the rest of the way, talking about a few gifts Dawn had received--a few that stuck out in particular--and then talked about all the talking that had been done between everyone, and so on. Kennedy however instantly stopped talking when she saw her sister sitting on the porch of the Summers house. She knew automatically that something wasn't right.

Buffy too sensed it, but something told her that it had nothing to do with her, "I'm gonna go in," she said, walking past both sisters. Faith and her exchanged a glance, one that made her worry, and then she picked up the pace a bit.

"What's going on?" Kennedy asked, "Why are being all weird?"

Faith stood there for a moment, then she let out a deep sigh, "Kennedy--"

That tone--That sadness. She knew that sound; she had heard it before, "What happened?" she asked, beginning to panic, "Is he okay?"

She simply shook her head. It was all she could seem to do at the moment, but when she saw the tears build in her sisters eyes, she moved instantly to pull her into her arms. For some reason then, she knew she had to say it, "He's dead, Kennedy--Dad's dead."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

From inside, Dawn and Buffy watched the two sisters from the living room window, with the sound of their mother cleaning in the background, "What happened?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," Dawn swallowed hard. Just seeing Kennedy, even from afar, made her ache and worry, "We were cleaning up once Leah left, and the phone rang. Mom said it was someone calling for Kennedy, and Faith said to give her the phone--that if someone was calling then something wasn't right. Then she just stopped talking. She went outside, and smoked a cigarette."

Buffy watched as Kennedy and Faith separated, and began to talk. She could see that they were discussing something serious, if one wasn't nodding the other was, and they both seemed to be thinking pretty hard. When she saw that Faith was leaving, she wanted to run out and ask her what was happening, but she stopped seeing that Kennedy was heading inside. Both her and Dawn moved away from the window, her picking up streamers, and Dawn pretending to sweep.

Dawn however wasn't going to let the moment just pass by, "What's going on?" she asked, as Kennedy went to walk up the stairs.

She didn't even turn to the girl, she couldn't, "It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

Dawn frowned, turning to Buffy, "I can't believe she just said that to me."

-- TO BE CONTINED --

Okay…well, if you feel like you've missed out on some things (a certain scene perhaps?) don't worry, you will get it…as an introduction to the next chapter. It's not really dramatic, it just unfolds a few things for a few people, so don't get upset or anything. Hope you guys liked the chapter--It was way longer than I thought it would be, but that's okay. It was a long wait, so you guys deserved a longer update. This however, was not even anything really. In the next chapter: Faith confronts June on a few things, but the confrontation doesn't go the way she had expected; Dawn questions Kennedy only to be shut out, and left to find answers on her own; Buffy and Willow are once again in the dark; Isabel has her own plans that upset a few people; and Faith and Kennedy go home. That's it for now, the next chapter will either be up or tomorrow, seeing that I'm alternating writing time for multiple stories, and seeing that it's 5:14 AM, and I'm exhausted beyond words. So, thanks guys for reading, I'll be thanking a few people next time. Please review. -ThomThom


	29. Introduction To The Next Chapter

Howdy! So, I'm sorry if I'm a little late, I have yet to finish my summer reading assignment, and I'm reading a lot of books that have nothing to do with my assignment, so (not to mention the women's beach volleyball final--)…Anyways, I'm glad that you guys liked the last chapter (the whole entire thing), it was great to write, though it was so strange to have all of them in one area for so long (transition wise). I'm excited, yes still excited, to be getting to this, and I really hope that you enjoy the chapter (which will be two parts most likely, but hopefully not). It's going to be a little different than my others, 'cause there's going to be quite a flashback in it (probably part two), and it will be very…not good--I mean dark. So, yeah, I hope you guys enjoy it. Thanks so much for reading, and review, you guys are awesome. Please review. -ThomThom

P.S. The Eraser is a song by Thom Yorke…of Radiohead (solo album!). Oh, and there's an introduction, like I said there would be. It's the present opening scene that you guys didn't get in the last chapter.

Introduction To: The Eraser/ The Harsher Aftermath

After a bit more time, Dawn had finally been permitted to open her gifts. As if she were a little child, they placed the gifts in front of her on the floor, and watched as she tore through them excitedly. Some stood around her, watching with smiles on their faces--along with a few eye rolls from Joyce when it came for time for Oz's gift--while a few sat either on the couch or on a chair, except for Kennedy who sat on the living room table, to Joyce's horror. But nothing was being argued against; nothing was being called out as a gift that wouldn't be approved of, even when Dawn got to the gift that Faith had gotten her, and her eyes went wide in horror at the thought of opening the gift--which was wrapped just like the box that June had pulled out questionable items from--and the room going into chaos, ending in Faith being thrown out of the house. But, it turned out to be a shirt or two, that she actually loved as soon as she saw them. She laughed at the bear that Willow gave her, and laughed even harder when Buffy said that it was from both of them; she smiled at the gift card that they both got her, though Willow was insisting she had nothing to do with it. Leah added some more CDs to her ever growing music collection, which received another eye roll from Joyce; she frowned at the book Giles gave her when she noticed it wasn't in English, and laughed when he said it was the one that she kept sneaking behind his back; she gasped at the necklace that Cordelia got her; covered her eyes in embarrassment after reading the card Xander got her, and blushed even harder at Joyce's mushy motherly gifts--When she got to Kennedy's stack she gleamed in delight, and squealed…until she started to open them.

The first few frustrated her, because it was a bunch of coins, and a few of them made her squeal in delight--those were the boxes full of cash. Eventually, however, she got tired of opening them, especially when they started to get heavier, and heavier.

"That's what you get for snooping," Kennedy said, in amusement.

Dawn rolled her eyes, and pushed the boxes aside, and then looked at everyone, "That's it?"

"Dawn," Joyce said, disapprovingly, "I swear you're just like--"

June stepped up, "I've got a few more," everyone turned and looked at her. She had been practically silent since she had arrived, only talking to Faith when the older girl was close to her, and avoiding eye contact with everyone else. It was clear that she wasn't exactly comfortable, but she kept her usual calm that she seemed to have around the group, the kind that let them know that she wasn't threatened by any of them. The stare of everyone in the room, however, did make her feel a little woozy, "if that's okay?"

Everyone first looked at Joyce, who seemed to be questioning why the room was suddenly serious, and quiet, then they all looked to Dawn, who still sat in the middle of the room--now looking more like a child. She looked at the blonde, unsure what to say really. It was like there was pressure on her somehow; there was the pressure of Buffy and Kennedy, who she knew didn't like the girl, and then there was pressure that she was putting on herself--Of course, it would be weird, and rude, for her to say no to the gifts, "That's fine," she laughed nervously, "I wouldn't turn down presents."

Joyce sighed, and shook her head, "You're just like your sister," she said, making everyone in the room laugh slightly, minus Buffy of course.

June, who had been standing in the entry way of the room, stepped forward--Every eye in the room was on her and she felt it, as she sparked the magic within her alive. She wasn't going to do a bunch of 'tricks' or anything, but she hadn't brought any gifts with her, just incase someone didn't approve, and since the gifts were at her house, which she was not going to teleport to, she was just going to bring them to her. As usual, before she had entered the world of the normal, she had pushed the magic within her down, just to secure that there were no accidents with a burst of emotion. She lifted her hand slightly, about waist level…

Willow, who had been sitting in a chair next to the table Kennedy was sitting on, scooted to the edge of her seat. She had felt the spark, had even smelt it--like the wondering smoke of a match, "She wouldn't," she mumbled, looking over at Leah, who was now sitting next to her mother on the couch behind her and Kennedy.

Before she did anything, she glanced over at Faith, who nodded, and then slightly at Isabel, who was staring intently, then she turned back to Dawn, "It isn't anything really," she smoothed her thumb over her finger, as if feeling the texture of the air, and then clinched, as if ringing a sheet, and a black bag appeared in her hand. It was a gift bag, but a little untraditional seeing that it was black, and the girl wasn't 'over the hill'.

Cordelia, who had somehow ended up standing next to Xander, leaned slightly, "She's going to do magic tricks?" she asked, in a whisper.

"I would have just brought them here, but I wasn't sure I was aloud to give gifts," June laughed. She made her way through the room, and handed the bag to Dawn, "Here ya go. Sorry, if they're a little weird. It kind of comes with anything that I do, so--" she let it trail as she moved back a little, moving to stand by Faith.

Buffy looked at her sister intently, wondering if she should go all bomb squad, but the slight move Faith made drew her attention. The other slayer had gave June a quick squeeze of the hand, and that for some reason went down even worse than the mysterious black bag, but she didn't get to really think about it long, because the next thing she heard was the sound of Leah's voice--

"See what it is," Leah said, as she scooted forward to the edge of the couch.

Dawn looked at her friend, and then at Kennedy, and then at Buffy. Once she did that, she looked inside of the bag, and frowned, "It's empty."

"Guess she didn't finish the trick," Cordelia smiled.

Leah shook her head, "No, it's not. You have to reach in," she laughed, like what she said was obvious.

Both Buffy and Kennedy took note of that fact. If Leah wasn't a witch, she definitely knew some things about magic, which meant that Isabel probably did, too. Once again, the sugar and sprinkle had been explained, further pointing them into suspicion.

June shrugged, "She's right. It's precautious thing," she watched as the girl hesitantly reached into the bag, first pulling out an old book, "Yeah, that's this, uh,…it's kinda a magic book for beginners, it's how I got started, so--It kinda helps you get in touch with your inner self first, if that makes any sense. It also happens to be in English, which is really extremely rare, considering how old it is."

With raised brows, Dawn looked the book over, "Wow--" was all she could really manage. After finding out that Willow was a witch, she had actually wanted to learn more about one of the many things that were told to just be parts of fairy tales, until the whole Buffy being a slayer thing came out, "Thank you."

Giles leaned over slightly, trying to get a better look at the book, "May I--?" he asked, extending his hand.

"Sure," Dawn said, handing it to him.

He opened the book, and read a few pages, "This is--bizarre. It's the most--How did you get this?" he asked, looking to June.

"My uncle gave it to me when I was really little. Before I could read, really," she laughed, "It's an interesting thing to read at the age of six, and practically impossible to understand at that age, but I think Dawn's in pretty good shape in the reading category. Plus, it's a pretty neutral book, not too much uncontrollable spells," she smiled, looking back to Dawn, "There's a few more. Less, boring."

Dawn reached in again, this time pulling out a black envelope. She opened it carefully, sure not to rip it, and pulled out some white slips, immediately making her laugh, "They're excuse passes from a doctor's office, signed and everything."

Joyce nearly fell over, "What?"

June smiled, slightly, knowing that the mother probably didn't like that gift, "Well, I might have noticed that Dawn's at our school an awful lot these days, meaning she's not at her actual school, so I got my mom--who's a doctor--to grab a few doctor's notes. The signing took a little bit more, but I got her there. I'm not trying to encourage her to skip," she said, quickly, "Just, if she so happens to miss a day, now they can't really try to kick her out of school for skipping," she paused, "There's two more. Ones that won't get me killed by your mom."

She laughed, reaching in again to pull out another envelope, which she opened just like the other one--if not even more careful, knowing that it might have something that could be ripped within it. This time, she pulled out two tickets, a little smaller than the envelope. She examined them carefully, and then looked to June in shock, "How'd you--?"

"What are they?" Joyce asked. Dawn lifted them in her direction, and the woman took them, reading over them quickly, "Two tickets to a classic film festival," she said aloud, to inform the whole room of what they were.

Kennedy was the one to frown this time, "They're her favorite," she said, "How'd you know?"

June shrugged, "A hunch. I guess it paid off."

"Definitely," Dawn said, still slightly baffled, "I had heard about this, but I didn't think I'd actually get to go. Thank you so much, June. This is the best gift ever."

"How clever," Isabel mumbled, getting her daughter's attention. She had sat quietly through the whole thing, as the room also grew silent, but with each gift she felt herself slowly feel like uttering a word or two. Not the ones she wanted to utter, but still--There was something to be said.

"No problem, I knew someone, and he said he could get me two tickets. I tried to get more, so it would be a family outing, but those were the last two good ones. You'll be able to see any movie that you want, no restrictions, or any extra costs. It's a three day festival, so…you might have to use one of the excuse slips. Now," she lifted her hand, one finger extended, "There's one more. It won't seem as cool."

"Key words 'seem'," Faith said, still unsure of what was happening. She hadn't been with June when she had gotten anything that she was giving the girl, so all of it was new to her. Honestly, she had planned on just saying that the gift that she brought was from the both of them, but June had told he when the presents first being opened that it wouldn't be necessary. She wondered whether that was what June had run off to do earlier that day, but with all that she had brought--it seemed kind of impossible, though the girl could teleport. These gift seemed thought through. Meaning they took time--which would mean something different entirely.

For the final time, Dawn reached into the bag, this time pulling out a black box that seemed to be about 3x3. She turned it over in her hand, looking for a place to open it, but found no fold, or any other indication of somewhere to open it. It was solid, fro how it felt, cold on her hand, "It's a box?" she paused, "For decoration? Like one of those things that keep books standing up?"

"Not exactly," June frowned, "It's a, uh, how I can I--It's a part of a sort of magic tradition, at least if you're at a good enough level to give, or receive one. That doesn't really explain anything, does it?" she shook her head, "It's like, if you can get the box open, whatever is inside will help you in your most difficult times."

"Well, how do you open it?" Dawn asked, impatiently.

As she fumbled with the box, the watching eyes felt the awkwardness of the moment; of the whole situation. They had not really thought about the silence, there own silence in particular, until that very moment. The room had been sucked dry--the joy turned to a sort of numbness--the smiles, a curious frown. These people, who had known the girl for years, if not her own whole life, had been, in a sense, out gifted by a stranger. Not only a stranger, but a stranger they did not like, or trust, or believe whenever she spoke. Yet, at the moment, she seemed honest. The smile did not have an underlining darkness, no lies seemed to spewing--minus the hunch--and all of them found themselves…silent. Sure, there had a few words; questions; assumptions, but compared to the laughter; the smiles; and the jokes that came with the gifts from everyone else--It was quiet. It was silent.

June laughed at the question, "Magic, of course. It actually takes a few steps, but the main one, is the first one--You have to float it mid air…but also be very patient."

"Then, I'm already screwed. I'm not patient, and I don't think I'll have this floating any time soon, if ever," she said, disappointed.

Xander finally spoke, "Don't you have to be a witch, or a man witch--"

"Warlock," Willow corrected.

"Right," he nodded, "Don't you have to be one of those to make with the magic?"

"Um," she shook her head, "No, not necessarily. You'll be stunted at a certain level if you don't have magic in your blood line, but most people do. It's all about you and your own capabilities."

Giles cleared his throat, "May I ask," he began, "What level are you at?"

June looked up, as if to think for a moment, "Very advanced," she settled, "You're a watcher, so you guys go by actual levels, with numbers and stuff, but we don't really look at it that way. It's more of a bloodline, origin of being, and age thing. Though, age doesn't really mean anything in terms my level--I would say watchers wise, I'm beyond your level of thinking."

"So you're a witch?" Joyce asked.

"Stating the obvious," Dawn said, looking over at her mother.

"Anyways," June said, with a sigh, "I'm not really the point here," she walked over to Dawn, making sure not to step on any of the other gifts, and kneeled down in front of her, gently taking the box, "It's not as hard as you think, it's just that people here limit themselves in a task, before they even begin," she lifted her free hand, palm up, "Put your hand on top of mine, palm facing upwards."

Dawn once again checked the room, first looking at Buffy, then at Kennedy. Then, she hesitantly placed the back of her hand on June's palm, but she pulled it back quickly, "You shocked me," she jumped.

"No, I was checking. Think of it as if I'm trying to start a dead battery. You're the negative, by default of course," she laughed, "I'm the positive. There won't be a shock this time, I promise," with that assurance, Dawn placed her hand on June's again. Then, slowly, June placed the box in the palm of the girl's hand, "See, the thing is, this box will seek out the magic within you. It just needs one little spark to make sure it's you, and that it belongs to you," she breathed out slowly, focusing her eyes on the box, "There," she said, as it slowly lifted, "Just focus on that little spark," with a slight smile, she slowly moved her hand from under Dawn's hand. It held in the air a moment longer, after she had removed her hand, and then fell back into Dawn's, "There you go," she smiled, "That's all it takes. Eventually, you'll be able to focus long enough to where it slowly starts to open."

Willow looked on in amazement. The task of making anything float had been a challenge for her. It took lots of time to get that concentration, and so seeing Dawn do it, even with the slight help from June--The doubt in herself, and her capabilities when she found out that June was a witch, and actually a powerful witch at such a young age, grew even further. She couldn't believe what she had just seen.

Giles was also in disbelief, because it seemed that he had been left out of the loop. He hadn't known that June was a witch at all, let alone an extremely powerful one. It seemed that there had been secrets among the young teens that he felt he should have been notified of. Having such a powerful witch near by is very rare, usual too rare to be a coincidence, "Can I ask where you bought the box?"

"I didn't really buy it--I mean I didn't steal it either, but there was no money involved," she sighed, as she stood up, "There's shop in the underground a few dimensions off, and at the back of it--down a few steps--there's a room about the size of a power plant. It's filled with rows, and rows, of these types of boxes. Shelves practically to the ceiling. Only a few people are aloud entrance, I just happen to be one of them. A lot of people miss out--You see, there's one for every person in the world, no matter what reality, dimension, or whatever, so imagine how many have been stored up," she laughed, slightly, "Anyways, so you walk around the place, chanting the persons age, along with another spell--That aloud to name--and after hours and hours of wander--varying on which dimension you're from, 'cause time varies--a single box within the place will slide forward. You'll usual only hear it and wander around for hours trying to find it, but Dawn's slid out just as I passed it."

"What is the origin of this, uh, tradition?" Giles asked.

June smiled, "I can't tell you that either."

"That figures," Kennedy said, getting everyone's attention, "Well, it is. I mean you show up here, happen to know Isabel and Leah, and then you give these kinds of gifts? And a box that's in some from this top secret place?"

June stepped back slightly, pushing the magic within her back down, "I was just trying to--"

"Trying to what?" Buffy asked, "I don't think I'm understanding here."

"I just wanted to give her good gifts, I didn't think that I'd offend anyone, or cause any trouble by giving a person gifts on their birthday," she defended, "Really, I'm not trying to impress, or anything like that--The questions being sent my way, weren't my idea--Birthdays mean a lot where I come from. You give the best gift you can, or you don't give anything at all--I gave her the best. I'm sorry if that upsets you, but--" she stopped as Isabel stood up, knowing that the quiet sitting was done with. The woman began to speak to her, not in French to Giles' surprise, but a more ancient language. She told her to stop--that she shouldn't have brought that kind of gift to the party knowing how ignorant the people in the room were, and to leave it there. No arguing, and no more magic--To leave. Hearing that--that command, June gulped. She looked at Dawn, who was silent, and then at Faith, "I'm gonna go--I think it'd be better is I just left."

Seeing that she was too confused by what had just happened, Faith simply nodded, "Okay--I'll see you later."

She looked at Dawn one last time, "Good luck," she gave a gently smile, and then left the house.

Isabel shook her head, "Sorry, it's her bloodline to cause commotion where ever she goes. Magic is a way of living for her family, I'm sure having to restrict it is very hard for her. She wasn't trying to offend anyone at all," the woman guaranteed.

"She really wasn't," Leah added, "It's a tradition at her level."

After a moment of silence, Joyce cleared her throat, "How about we wrap it up, on that note."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, well, I'm really sorry to do this, but…as you can see…only an introduction today. After a long day of reading, talking, and jumping up in joy when Walsh and May-Treanor won the gold, again (Yes!)…I have grown tired. I really hope to give you guys the next part later on today. It might be into tomorrow night, but it will be up--despite the fact that I have to read. So, be looking for it--If it's not there, then I'll give you guys a bonus treat! Thanks for reading, and just incase I miss my mark, please review. Thanks you. -ThomThom

P.S. forgive the typos please.


	30. The Eraser The Harsher Aftermath

Hello, lovelies…I'm back (obviously), and I am so glad that you guys are still liking everything (nodding), loving, saying nice things--Oh, and AFRIEND is back! Welcome back! I was all (looking about) where is Afriend? No more holidays!…maybe a few are okay--Anyways, thanks so much guys for reading, reviewing, and being patient with me. A lot of unexpected events have occurred this week, therefore taking me away from my goal of mass updating--Stupid friends wanting bonding time. But, I am dedicated to at least getting this chapter up before I start school (takes deep breath), and so here I am, hopefully presenting a full chapter to you guys. I've had a great summer writing on this site, and just growing in the whole writing area, which is my life really. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed from the beginning especially…I love you guys, you're so great--This sounds like a goodbye sort of thing, doesn't it? Well, summers ending, so things might slow down, but I'm hoping that it won't (crossing fingers). Thanks again for reading, I will be thanking a few people at the end--Please review. -ThomThom

P.S. thanks, again.

Chapter Seventeen: The Eraser/ The Harsher Aftermath

June sat at end of her bed, a book in one hand and a blue highlighter in the other. Studying, though she still wasn't completely used to it, was her goal of the day. Nothing out of the ordinary, or anything that would be considered questionable to others, just studying. Well--what she was studying might have been a little questionable, but that didn't matter. Her goal of the day was to read, remember, and relax. The highlighter was just a precaution, just incase her memory failed her, or she missed a tiny detail that might have ended up being a future issue. Her memory was one of her strongest assets, there was no doubt in her mind about that, but with all the distractions she had had over the past days, she figured she might want to refresh her memory. Not only of the ancient language she was reading, and had been spoken to in at Dawn's party, but also of what was to come, and what she had to do to make sure things lined up correctly.

After Dawn's party, she had gone home immediately--or immediately in terms of walking home, instead of teleporting. Walking gave her time to clear her mind; to think over what had happened, and whether she had actually made a mistake by giving Dawn anything for her birthday. The appearance of Faith, which she had expected after Faith had told her that she'd see her later, hadn't happened once she had finally gotten home, and settled in for the night--Which was a relief as well as a disappointment. Could giving gifts really get her in that much trouble? The question seemed to roll around in her head, as she replayed the scene over and over in her head, noting whatever stood out. There was the gentle hand squeeze from Faith, the hesitation from Dawn, the looks from Buffy, the mumblings of Willow, and of course Isabel--But really, had that gotten her in any more of a disliked area than she had been? She hoped not, but wasn't completely ruling it out. Her mother assured her that it hadn't. That they had just been a little thrown off by all of it, but she wasn't so sure, and it was obvious that it showed because Catherine--who had first had a smile on her face when June had walked in, and was preparing to ask how everything went--immediately asked what was wrong when she walked in--She had skipped the part about Isabel being there, not wanting there to be any confrontation. She decided to tell her mother at a better time. Never, if it were at all possible.

There was a noise that made her look up from her book. Actually making her slip her bookmark between the pages, and lay it aside, along with the blue highlighter. She sparked herself alive once again, after wanting to rest her body for a while--relax--and tried to figure out what was going on downstairs. The first thing she felt was anger--not her own, but someone else's anger. Then, she knew. She rolled her eyes, and sighed, just waiting for it to happen.

The door flew open, and Faith stormed in, "I need to talk to you," she said, angrily.

June, who remained calm, and had a blank at ease expression on her face, looked past Faith just as her mother walked in the room, "Get out," she said, to the woman. It wasn't said harshly, or even meant to be, but it was the only thing she could say to let the woman know that she really needed her to leave the room, and not start yelling at the intruder. Once Catherine walked had backed out of the room, she looked back to Faith, "What do you want, Faith?"

"I don't buy it," she said, crossing her arms, "I thought about it, and I don't buy it. This whole aunt and uncle bullshit cover up that you and Isabel came up with," after June had left, she had wondered whether that had been true or not, and whether it were actually James that they had been talking about. If it was true, the fact that James was the girl's uncle--the warlock uncle--then it made sense that June was so protective over the book she had taken, but she wasn't convinced that that was really how June knew Isabel. Her mind was telling her that that was the explanation given because it would seem normal--possible. Of course, that wasn't really why she was there, though-- "You lied to me."

"No I didn't," June was still calm, and firm within her calm state. There would be no yelling on her part--not that day, "I didn't tell you that James was my uncle, but I didn't lie to you. And, what Isabel said last night was the truth--her sister-in-law knew my uncle. They were very good friends, actually, so I didn't lie," she said, again, "I'm sorry that you don't believe that."

Faith huffed, "Damn right I don't."

"Well, it's the truth," she sighed, "I don't know what else to tell you, Faith. Do you want me to tell you that it's all a lie? That I know Isabel some other way?" she asked, "I can do that--If that's what you need me to do…to say. I'll say it. You just have to tell me."

She frowned at the girl's words, confused by the response she was getting. The response she had expected was what it had always been when she had ever questioned the girl--yelling; arguing; something that had some kind of anger in it. But, instead of getting that, she was getting a calm, strange, response, "Fine, whatever," she shook her head, "There's more to it, then. Either way, you're full of shit."

"Faith, you can't say that to me," she pulled her legs up to sit Indian style, "Not when you only invited me to get your own answers, last night. You're not getting them as fast as you would like, I know, but you don't get to say that to me," the slayer looked away from her, "Even if you are confused, and I know you are. I understand what you're going through--I know you're hurting," the slayer still said nothing, but she knew--She knew why Faith had really come. Why she had really wanted them to get into it--That was the way she dealt with things; how she dealt with death. June rose from her spot, and walked towards her, first being told to stay away, but eventually there was nowhere for Faith to go. There was nothing but the wall behind her, and June knew she wouldn't run, "I'm sorry."

"Don't," Faith said, shaking her head, not looking the girl in the eyes, "Don't say that to me," she looked up at her, "Get mad at me--Yell at me, hit me, do something…but don't say that. Not now," June stepped even closer, and she pushed her away, "Don't touch me," she warned.

"You really think I'm going to start listening to you, now?" June asked, "When I never have before," she stepped forward again, extending her arms as she did. When she felt the impact of Faith's body against hers, her eyes closing tightly, she first wondered if the girl had pushed her again, or if she had hit her--both of which she would have understood--but when she felt arms tightly wrap around her, she sighed in relief. She wrapped her arms around the brunette, and rubbed her back gently, "I'm so sorry…It'll be okay," she whispered.

Faith whimpered, slightly, squeezing the girl tighter, "No, it won't--They're dead. Both of them are dead, and--I don't know what to do. What can I do?"

"Nothing," June answered, "There's nothing you can do--There's nothing that you did. Things just happen. People die, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it, or fix it--All you can do is be strong," she paused, "Be strong for Kennedy. You can do that, can't you?" she felt her nod, "Good," she started to pull out of the hug, "Look at me," Faith let go of her, but looked away, "Come on…look at me," she urged.

She looked up, landing on blue eyes full of sympathy. It wasn't surprising that June had figured her out; had known that something else was going on. How much she knew wasn't something she was going to question at the moment, because at that moment, she just wanted to be there. To be in a place where she was completely see-through, and didn't have to hide, or run--or be anything really.

June pushed some of the slayer's hair back, "If you need anything, no matter where you are, or how late it is, just call me, okay? Well, don't call my house," she laughed, "just say my name. I'll hear you, and be I'll there in the blink of an eye. I'll even bring you beer, and cigarettes," she noticed the slayer's slight smile, "See, I'm already doing some good, and I haven't even broken the law, yet," she shrugged. She took another slight step, "Can I--" hesitating slightly, she put both her hands on Faith's waist.

As if she had read her mind, Faith nodded, closing her eyes as the girl leaned forward, and sighing as their lips touched. It was quick; just a peck, really--nothing more, or less, "Thank you," she said, quietly.

"No problem," the blonde said, still with her eyes closed. She didn't open them until she no longer felt her hands touching anything, and the room became lighter. When she did, however, she wasn't shocked to see that she was no longer in her room--That Faith was no longer in front of her. In fact, she was in a different house completely. June now found herself standing in the living room of the Summers house, with sunlight being the only sort of light--it was only mid day, so it was bright--There were no noises heard, and no one to be seen, until she turned around, and when she did, there was only one person that she saw, "Isabel."

The woman sat in a chair near the coffee table, her legs crossed, and hands clasped in her lap. She was wearing a black dress shirt, and black dress pants, with black high heeled shoes, and her hair was down; hanging past her shoulders in loose curls, "It is funny," she began--speaking in the ancient language which she had spoken to the girl in, the night before, "that I have caught you at this moment. As usual, your emotions have gotten to you--It's always her."

Ignoring the woman's words, and insinuations, June bowed slightly--keeping the level of respect due to the woman--and then she straightened back up, and folded her arms, "So, this is it?" she asked, also using the ancient language.

Isabel nodded, knowing full well what the girl was talking about, "This is it," she answered. She stared at her for a moment, a slight smile on her face, as she looked her over, marking the changes in her features, and how she held her magic at such a low level. Then, she let the smile fade, "It is the last time that I will let you attempt to complete your task--your goal. I had thought, in the beginning, that it would be just another one of your 'trial runs', and let myself interfere, despite the fact that I wasn't supposed to I might add, but I have gone ahead and decided to tell you that this is it. It's time to end it. Either you get it right this time, or--It's over."

"Can I speak freely?" she asked.

"Go ahead," she nodded. She had been prepared for the girl to try to fight her decision--Had in some way wanted her to, but she knew the result would be the same; what she said was final.

June sighed, "I'm not sure I've got everything, yet. I've been going back and forth, checking every single possible outcome, and I'm just not sure that you saying this is it--That whatever happens from this point on will be final, is such a good idea."

"You have to understand--The fact that I'm even letting you do this is against everything that I've been taught, or raised to become. This is not what everyone else wants, and I am supposed to represent them, and keep their needs ahead of things that I want, or you want, or--"

"And, I understand that, but--"

Isabel raised her hand, silencing the girl, "I don't think you do. You haven't seen what I've seen, or been through what any of us have experienced--The last girl we tried this with almost brought hell on Earth, and with your emotions--"

"I wasn't the one in charge her trials, or final attempt, that was--"

"Interrupt me again and I will stop you from even getting this last chance," she said, angrily, "The fact that you had nothing to do with that does not change anything. If anything, it is exactly why I worry. Despite what you think, you don't have your uncle's knowledge. And, even with all his knowledge, and power, he failed," her features relaxed, as she forced herself to do the same, knowing that the girl meant no harm, or disrespect towards her, "There will be no more of this, and that's the end of it. It's now, or never, and I need you to accept that. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she answered, simply.

"This is what I'm going to do--I suggest you put your anger aside, because any outbursts of emotion may lead you into trouble, and you know what I mean by that. You are unstable, and slightly out of control--I am at full strength, and I will take you down," she waited a moment before going on, until she knew for sure that June wasn't in any way even thinking of doing anything, and wasn't going to loose hold of herself, "I'm going to erase my presence from this whole ordeal--No one that I've met, or talked to will remember me, and any time that I have helped you, or stepped in in anyway will be made into something, or someone else. Therefore, all the guilt will be laid on her full force," she heard June start to say something, and watched as the girl closed her mouth instantly, "Then," she continued, "I will either settle in here, or disappear."

"You mean run?" she asked, "What about Leah? You can't just tell her to pack it up after letting her get close to the people here--To Dawn. She won't go for it."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn walked into her room to see that Kennedy was packing a bag, making her worry even more, "What are you doing?" she asked, walking over to her, "You're not moving out, are you?"

"No," Kennedy said, simply, as she continued to gather a few things to take with her. Faith and her had decided to leave immediately, knowing there were things to be done back home. The fact that both of her parents were dead still seemed strange; impossible even. The last time she had seen her father, he had been fine. Drunk, but still fine--Better than usually, actually. So the thought that he was gone didn't make sense. Things had started to get better--But, then again, in her life, when that happened, there was also disaster that followed.

"Then what's going on?" Dawn questioned.

Kennedy didn't answer. It was the billionth time the girl had asked her that question, and she wasn't going to answer it that time, either. For one thing, she wasn't in the mood for the hugs, and the 'sorry for your loss' routine. That, she knew she would get enough of at the funeral. But, mostly, she didn't want to bring the girl down the day after her birthday. Sure, Dawn was mad, and confused, but Kennedy felt that pointing out the fact that death was in the world, the day after the girl's birthday--It just didn't seem right.

"You don't have to protect me just because it's the day after my birthday," the girl said, as if reading the other girl's mind, "What," she said, seeing Kennedy hesitate, "you really think I wouldn't figure that out? It's just like you to try and protect me, now. I get older, and now you decide to be all weird towards me. All secretive, and--I don't like it," she declared, "It's not fair," she went and sat down on her bed, so she could see Kennedy's face, which she found emotionless, "If you don't tell me, I'll find out what's going on myself."

Kennedy zipped her bag, grabbed the one she had already packed, and then put the other ones strap on her shoulder. She looked at the younger girl, who was obviously angry, and had her arms crossed, "Fine, go for it," she said, as she turned to leave, "I'll see you soon, I promise."

Dawn frowned as Kennedy walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, and then sighed when she heard the front door close. She laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment, and then looked over at her closet, an idea recurring to her mind. With that thought, she got up and went to her closet, moving a few things around, hoping that it was there--And it was. That journal that she had started read before had been left behind, and in her mind, left to be read. She took it over to her bed, where she sat down, and stared at it for a moment.

"I warned you," she said, aloud. Then, she opened it, turning the first few blank pages, and the ones that gave warning specifically to her only. Then she found the first entry, first frowning at the date, "She's only been writing in it since--" she thought back, "Since the last time she went to her dad's…since she found out about Faith and Rachel?" pushing the state of confusion aside, she started to read, knowing that whatever had been going on with Kennedy lately had to be hidden within the pages of the girl's journal. It just had to be.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy sat down on a stool in her kitchen, and sipped on her cup of hot coco, using the sleeves of the white sweater she was wearing as mittens for her hands, so she wouldn't burn them. She had been home all day, like everyone else in the house, occasionally picking up a few things that they had neglected to clean after the party the day before. All she really thought of was the way the night ended; seeing Faith and Kennedy talking outside. She hadn't questioned Kennedy, or gone to see Faith, but she had asked Dawn, who she knew would question Kennedy without a doubt. Unfortunately, her sister knew nothing, just like her. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to find out herself, though.

She frowned at hearing the front door open, and close, again--having seen Kennedy walk out, but was relieved to see that it was Willow who had walked in, "Anything?" she asked.

"Nope," the witch sighed. She sat on the stool beside her friend, and put her hands in her face, breathing out heavily. Then, she propped herself up on her elbows, "She just told me that she'd be back, and to not worry about it. But, I don't know how I'm not supposed to worry, seeing that my girlfriend is just packing up and leaving without telling me what's going on, and considering her history of packing up and leaving for months at a time."

"Yeah," the slayer sympathized, "I wonder what's going on."

"Me too. I'm glad that Dawn called me this morning, or I would have gotten the news from you," Buffy made a face, and she realized how that had sounded, "No, I mean, uh, that I would have been told after the fact, and not even been able to say bye…hopefully not a permanent bye."

"Yeah," she said, again.

Willow frowned, "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Do you think that Faith left, too? I mean, she probably did, and I know I should've gone after her last night--Do you think I should have gone after her? We are doing that whole friend thing now, and that's what friends do. They check on other friends when something bad has happened, and obviously something bad has happened, but I didn't go. Should I have gone to see her?"

She thought about how to answer the questions being thrown her way, saying no wouldn't be exactly truthful, because she knew if it had been her--a 'friend'--the slayer would have been there for her, but saying yes would sound kind of harsh, "Maybe," she settled, "But, we don't know what's going on, so…what if she wanted to be alone? She could have wanted to be alone."

"But, what if she didn't want to be alone? What if I just left her to be alone, and now she's all broken, and lost, and lonely? I should have gone to see her, if not last night, then this morning at least. Then, maybe I would know what's going on--"

"And you could tell me," Willow finished.

She nodded, thinking about it for a while longer, and then pushed it aside, "So, what do you think is going on? With how Faith was acting--from a distance, at least--something bad must have happened. She was all serious. Like, more serious than I've ever seen her, and I've seen her at some serious moments."

"I don't know, but Kennedy was really grr, too. She was all distant, and grr. I hope that nothing too bad has happened. I--I think maybe it has to do with their dad. Last time Kennedy had told me anything about him, it mostly consisted of how sad he was about his wife being dead, and how much he drank everyday. But, she also mentioned something about him drinking less."

"Maybe," Buffy said, thinking.

"Kennedy didn't even tell me when her mom died," Willow mentioned, "Did Faith tell you?"

Buffy shook her head, "No, she told me after the fact. When she came back, she told me about it. I hope its nothing that bad, though."

"Me too," she frowned, "She would have told me this time, right? I know that when her mom died, I was being all distant, not responding to her letters and emails and all, so that was deserved, but she would tell me about her dad dying, right? We're together, now. She would tell me--And, Faith would tell you. You're the closest friend she's got," she looked down.

"Willow," she said, getting the girl to look at her, "we both know that's not true."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Kennedy looked out of the plane window, staring at the clouds as they passed. The shock of running into Willow as she put her things in her car was still fresh in her mind. It had been harder to lock the redhead out, but she had done it--For some reason, she had done it, and she couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt because of it. Everyone in the Summers house, she knew, would be worried, and she knew that Willow would worry too, but she just couldn't deal with anything else. The news had been so sudden, and on such a balanced--between good, and bad--day. If not mostly good, with a little bit of awkwardness, attached to the name June, so when she was told that her father was dead--that not only was her mother dead, but her father as well…she didn't want the sympathy, or pity, or anything like that. She just wanted to go home.

She looked over at Faith, who hadn't talked much since she had picked her up from the motel, and wondered how she was doing under that layer of protective calmness. There had been no breaking down, or any real sort of crying from either one of them, which was a big difference between their reaction to their mother's death, but then again--that was a completely different situation. With that in mind, she turned more in her seat towards her sister, "You okay?" she asked.

Faith was brought back to reality at the sound of Kennedy's voice, blinking away her thoughts as she turned to look at her, "Yeah. You?"

"I'm alright, considering everything," Faith nodded in response, which she understood to be her saying, 'good,' and then looked away from her. There was something on the slayer's mind, she knew that, but she didn't want to really ask. Not because she didn't care, but because it might have been the obvious. It might have been that she was thinking about their father's death, and comparing it to their mother's, just as she had. Something within her told her it wasn't, though, "You thinking about last night?" she asked. Her sister turned to her with a blank expression, "You know, the whole thing with June, and the gifts, and Isabel?"

"No," she answered, without even having to think about it, "I'm not thinking about the birthday party," that was the truth. She wasn't thinking of the party, or Isabel, or the gifts, but she was thinking of June. She looked at Kennedy, unsure of what to say really, now thinking of how Kennedy had reacted to June's gifts the night before. That was the problem of the moment, other than the obvious, she found herself unable to really talk to Kennedy about everything like she had before--minus a few things. But, they were supposed to be working on that, so she decided to give it a try anyways, "I went to see her."

Kennedy's brows went up, "Oh, yeah? How'd that go?" she asked, considering her sister's feelings, instead of arguing for her own. She turned even more in the seat, now that they were able to remove their seatbelts, it was easier to maneuver, so she pulled her legs completely onto the seat, and turned her body towards her sister as much as possible. They were at a time where they needed each other most, and she wasn't going to make the mistake of not thinking about her sister again. Not like after their mother died.

At first she was taken back by her sister's interest, but after a moment, she answered the question, "It went okay," she said, first, still unsure about how much she could really go into it all. Could she mention the fact that she and June had kissed? Or the fact that she wasn't sure what it had meant? Her solution was to just ease her way into everything; to test the waters, "I, um, did my whole anger routine on her first, expecting her to get all--Like all the other times we've gotten into it, or I've accused of her of things, but she didn't get mad, or anything. She kind of just--" she stopped there, not only because she didn't know exactly what to say, but also because she wasn't sure if she should say it at all.

Despite what she might have been thinking, Kennedy could see that her sister was wondering how much she could say. She saw that no matter if she liked it or not, there was something there--There was something within her sister that June seemed to be able to see when no one else could see it, and Faith wasn't sure that she could talk to her about it, "She kind of just what?" she asked, pushing the slayer to continue.

"I just had said all these things, you know? Like about all the stuff at the party, and how suspicious it was," she saw that this made Kennedy scoot closer, and knew that she was waiting for the goods--She was happy to disappoint her in that area, "But she just kept saying that Isabel hadn't lied. That that really was how they knew each other. And, she kept calm. There wasn't a moment where she wasn't calm--It's like she knew. She saw through the whole thing. I just wanted someone to be there, and I knew--In the back of my mind I knew that she would be the one--She understands--"

"But--" she cut herself short, not really wanting to press the issue that kept flashing within her head, but there was something that she just couldn't ignore, "But, what about you? I mean, I get that she gets you, and you guys have this thing, but how do you actually feel about her? Do you feel the same thing that she feels for you? What about--" she paused, "What about Buffy?"

"Let me ask you something," she said, as she thought about what her sister was asking her, "When Dawn noticed something was wrong with you, did she ask you what was going on? Did she come and bug the shit out of you this morning, trying to get you to open up?" Kennedy opened her mouth to answer, but Faith wasn't done, "Did Willow come by this morning?" that was it, what she was asking sent the message she was trying to deliver, and she could see it all over Kennedy's face, "Then let me ask, you--What about Buffy? I just get so tired of all that."

"So you went to June?" she questioned, not meaning for it to sound the way it did, but she knew that it had. Faith just sighed and turned away from her, grabbing some random magazine from the pouch of the seat in front of her. That had been it; the last straw for that conversation, "I didn't mean it like that."

Faith looked up from the magazine, still not looking at her sister, "Let's just not talk about stuff like that, okay? None of that stuff has anything to do with what's going on right now, so let's not talk about it."

"Fine," she said, repositioning herself so that she was sitting in the seat correctly. However, after a moment, she found herself unable to really leave it alone, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to understand. I want to understand, and I want to know what's going on with you, even if it has to do with June."

She closed the magazine, "You know, we're only talking about this because it's better than talking about Dad being dead. You said you understood yesterday, the only difference between yesterday and today, really, is the fact that's Dad is dead. He's dead, and we'd rather bring up all the shit happening back in Sunnydale than deal with everything--Let's just deal, okay?"

The bluntness of her sister's words were a little painful to hear, but truthful nonetheless. She had been blocking the emotions that came with the thought of her father being dead, only dealing with the shock, and the numbness. But, there was one thing that was missing, and that was the devastation of realizing that there would be no more phone calls, letters, or trips. No one would be at home when she went for holidays--none of their homes. Once again, she turned to the window and stared at the clouds being passed, counting them as if they were sheep. She counted about one hundred and fifty before she had dozed off, only to find herself in yet another nightmare. But, it was short lived. The sound of the captain, along with the flight attendants, telling everyone to put the seatbelts back on, woke her up before the dream had gone too far; before the blood and fire. Faith, as it turned out had stayed awake the whole time, and from the looks of it--as she leaned slightly towards her--hadn't manage to read a single page of the magazine she had grabbed.

The sadness of the situation then began to sink in, as the plane landed and they gathered their belongings, and headed off the plane, trying not to get annoyed by the pushing crowd. Once they stepped into the coldness of the airport, they weren't at all surprised to find that someone was waiting for them. Some guy named Ford had been sent to pick them up, and help them with any of their bags, which were going to be arriving a little later than they had liked. He was tall, the intimidating type, and was wearing a black suit, along with sunglasses--typical security type of thing. They were, after all, back in the land of what Kennedy liked to call 'basic royalty'. There would be hardly any moments, from that point on, that they'd be alone, seeing that both their parents were dead. There were lawyers to be met, real-estate men, and all kinds of things that would be imposed upon them, keeping them from actually having time to mourn, and they both knew it.

Once the bags were gotten, and they made it through the mass of people, they were taken outside, where a limo awaited. It was then, that Ford told them that he'd be staying at the airport to get one more person, to their surprise, and that he'd see them later. That actually made the ride easier; not having a giant man staring at them for two hours. Apparently, they weren't going to their huge mansion in the Hamptons, they were going to a more low key home that they had only gone to a few summers, therefore keeping them from even being able to try to name what city they were in, or anything like that, but that didn't matter. The drive was through lots of woodlands, which told them that civilization was far away. The air smelt of evergreens, and other smells that nature only seemed to be able to produce when practically untouched, and unseen. There were sounds of animals, bugs, and what sounded like a rushing river as they got out of the limo, stretching their limbs as they did. The driver got out to help them, and they told him that it was unnecessary, even though they had to walk a little ways off to actually get to the mansion.

It could still be called a mansion, despite the fact that it wasn't as big as their one in the Hamptons, but it was definitely smaller, and more homey than their others. Their was, of course, an entrance gate at the front of the property; two large black gates that met at the center of the road, which could only be opened with one single code that was only given to family members. Anyone one else really weren't aloud on the property, hints the fact that the driver had offered to take their belongings, and hints the fact why they told the older man that it wasn't necessary. They walked along the white rocky entry road, looking at the dark green grass lining both sides, and then up towards the mansion it was two stories high, in most places, made entirely of a brownish type of brick, and was practically covered with windows, all of which had drawn curtains. It was slightly divided, the front being flat and facing them more directly, while the left side of the house turned out towards them, and the right doing the same. Vines had grown over the jutted sides of the house, along with flowers, which were in full bloom despite the winter chill, and the large angel fountain that the road led to, before it split in two directions, still had flowing water, despite the fact that the house was rarely visited.

They stared up at the statue as they passed it, noticing the two small angels at the large angel's--a woman--ankles, seeming to notice them for the first time, and then at the wings that seemed to be stuck in a position of almost taking off, but not quite making it--both of them found that ironic. They climbed the stairs, and walked up to the black double doors, looking to each other before the reached to enter, and then entering quietly. Out of habit, they took their shoes off as they stepped onto the wooden floor, looking forward directly into the first living areas of many--the one their mom used to call the 'guest gathering area', meaning the one that had the fanciest items. There was the fancy furniture on the white carpet, because that's what the wooden floors turned to if you actually walked into the living area, and there were the antique lamps, and things like that; paintings, framed family portraits, etc. They weren't going to go there though. They turned left and walked through an entry way into the dinning area, which had a large antique Maplewood table, that had their mother's favorite china on top of it, still dusted, polished, and probably freshly washed. Then, they made a right, and walked a bit back before they climbed one of the many flights of stairs in the house. This flight led directly to the hallway closer to where their rooms were located, still with high ceilings and back to wooden floors until they actually entered their rooms.

Kennedy gave Faith a nod before she headed towards her room, which was actually a hallway over. She looked at all the family photos as she passed, each one bringing a heavier trail of emotion. There were the ones that were strictly for show, from studios and places like that, and then there were the ones of family outings. That was when they had all been together, before all of the chaos, and the anger. Before anything in the world had really tore them apart. The ones with her mother in them felt like they had been taken ages ago; the smile on her face bright, and loving. She had almost forgotten how beautiful she was. And the ones with her Dad were always of him making faces, or grinning, pointing out who his two daughters had gotten their famous grins from. But, something had happened. Before the death of their mother, and even before the death of their watcher, something had changed within the family. There were no more out and about pictures, just the cold studio ones where they all dressed up for that moment, and smiled for that second--If Faith bothered to show up. They had both started to drift off from their parents, and their dad began to push himself further and further into his work. That was why, after their watcher died, they had not gone home, because they had felt that there was nothing to return to.

However, after they had been on the run for a while, with Faith trying to take down every big thing they passed by, and had landed in Sunnydale, their parents had seemed to miss them, and they their parents. They had gone back, still having their slight problems, but nothing compared to before. Faith, of course was too much of her own person by then to be trapped in doors, or told where she could or couldn't go, and Kennedy had sort of just been there. She got into trouble every once in while, if she was actually caught doing anything, but she wasn't as bad as her sister, and therefore her relationship with her parents had healed rather quickly, which is why there were more pictures of her on the walls, than of Faith, and why there were some from each part of her life, and not just mostly from her toddler, or pre-teen days, like Faith.

When she reached her door, she let out a sigh as she put her hand on the doorknob, and then turned it quickly. As much as she loved Dawn , there was nothing like walking into a room of her own. One that was actually just for her, and had only her belongings in it. She carried her bags to the end of her bed, where their was a large wooden chest, and then dropped them on top of it, as she continued to look around. Though they hadn't visited the house much, there was no question about the fact that it was hers. Whereas Faith's room was more of a blank canvas, hers was full and overlapping. There were posters of different bands, along with some movie posters, and a few posters of models--which her mom had not approved of--then there were lots of pictures of people she once knew, along with some family pictures, and a few other things. The thing that stood out most to her, that caught her attention more than anything, however, was not a poster, or a picture of an old friend, it was something more meaningful. She walked over to her nightstand, and smiled at the little Tonka truck that was on top of it--running her fingers over it, and remembering when she had gotten it. More than anything, she remembered that it was her father that had given it to her. Next to it, there was a framed picture of her and her father when she was five--the one time they were able to get her into a dress. That brought a wider smile onto her face, along with a slight sadness.

She picked it up, and sat down on her queen sized bed, running a finger over her Dad's face, as if she were trying to just feel his skin one last time. He had been tall, with short black hair, and the brightest smile that she had ever seen--It was what she always pictured when she thought of him, not the times that he had yelled at her for reasons she couldn't understand, or all the times he had been drunk after her mom had died--His smile. Suddenly, because she had not felt it, a tear drop landed on the glass protecting the picture. In that moment, she knew it was real. She knew that he was really gone, and that she'd never see that smile again. The tears turned to whimpers, the whimpers turned to sobs, and then it was everything--She was crying completely, and fully. Not holding a single bit of it in at all. Her body shook; her tears fell; her throat made sounds she couldn't control--It all just came flowing from her in a rush, and before she could realize it, she was laying down. It was as if, with his death, a part of her life was also ending. There would no one there to answer her calls when she called home--Did she even really have a place called home anymore? Yeah, she had the Summers house, but there was no home to go to where someone would be waiting. Her dad would no longer be there if she needed to escape anything that was going on in Sunnydale. Where would she go then?

Thinking about these she drifted off into sleep, the picture held tightly over her chest. Once again, she had begun to drift off into a nightmare. It wasn't surprising really, and she was well aware of the fact that she had entered one when her surroundings had changed, though she still had the picture in her hand. Thankfully, before anything could happen, she heard a knock at the door. Her body jerked up right, and she felt that she had started to sweat, despite the fact that the nightmare had seemed short. They knocked again, and she got up from her bed, wiping her face with one hand, while still holding the picture in the other.

She opened the door to see that it was Faith who had been knocking, "You knock, now?"

Faith noticed that her sister had been crying, it was obvious, but said nothing, "I've been calling you from down the hall for like five minutes, and before that, I called your phone line, so…I thought maybe I should knock," she spotted the picture that Kennedy was holding, and the younger girl noticed, moving it behind her back, so she continued, "Some housekeeper or something just knocked on my door, saying we're supposed to go to Dad's library. Something about assets, or whatever.":

Kennedy groaned, "Already? We just got here, and we're already having to talk to lawyers and shit? Does anyone have any respect anymore?" she looked back into her room, and then back at Faith, "Just give me a second."

"Okay," she shrugged. Kennedy closed the door, and was gone for only a second before she came back out, wearing a different shirt, "You ready?" her sister nodded, and she so she turned and led the way to their dad's library. They had to practically go to the other side of the house, the side that didn't have carpet floors, and was more cut off from everything else. Neither of them had spent much time in their father's 'quiet room', as he used to call it, so it was odd to enter the room, especially under those circumstances.

It was a large room, with bookshelves practically on every inch of the wall, along with some diplomas, and things like that. In front of the one window of the room, there was a telescope, and next to that a small shelf that had a locked glass window, keeping everyone without a key from touching his more private collections of books. Near the back of the room, was his 'grand maple', a very large, antiquely carved desk, and in front of it, two older cushioned chairs were ready for them to sit in. Whoever they were meeting had not yet arrived, to their surprise, usually the people their father hired were extremely punctual, but they didn't really mind beyond the fact that they would have rather been in their rooms than staring at more things that made them think of their father.

Kennedy sat in the left chair, Faith the right, and they both sat silently looking at the high-backed chair on the other side of the desk. Just as they began to picture their father sitting there, and telling them all about a book that he read, which they didn't understand at all, the door to the library opened, and a woman walked into the room. She was a tall woman, with pale skin, and dark brown hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail--minus a few strands--with thick black glasses over her hazel eyes, wearing a black skirt suit, with a black button up shirt instead of a white, black high heels, and in her hands was a black suit case.

She sat across from them--in their father's chair--without saying a word at first, as she took a few papers out, letting Faith notice that her fingernails were painted black as well. After a moment, she looked up at them, first looking at the younger one, noticing the fact that she was slouched in the chair, and already seeming to be on the way to staring into space. Therefore, she cleared her throat before she spoke.

"Hello," she said, with a British accent, "my name is Melanie Fryer, and I am the one in charge of all of the family assets. I have been left with some things to discuss with the two of you, pertaining to your properties, and other things, upon your father's death, which I am truly sorry for. He was a great man, and it was an honor to work for him, and your mother," she took a few papers out of a folder, and laid them in front of the two girls, "Okay, we're actually only going to go over a few minor things. Your father made sure that neither one of you would really have to go through any strenuous contracts, or anything like that, so we shouldn't be here too long. I realize that the two of your are probably tired, and wanting to be able to just grieve without anyone like me taking up your time, so I'm going to make this as easy as possible."

"Great," Faith said, simply. She looked over at Kennedy, who had seemed to have checked out of the room, and then back at the woman on the other side of the desk, "I'll just sign whatever, if that's okay."

The woman smiled gently, "That's fine, we're mostly just going to, uh, talk about what should be sold, or kept, or what can't be taken out of the family. This house for example, your father had wished to be kept in the family, and kept under the same amount of security."

The slayer frowned, "Really? I mean, I'm gonna object, or anything, but--"

"Yes, I know, it seems a bit strange, but he specifically didn't want to sell this one, or the main house. Then, there are a few things within in them that can't be sold, and a few that can, its really just a matter of--"

From that point on, she went on and on about things to sell, or not to sell--Kennedy looked up occasionally, but mostly she was just thinking about how weird it was to be in her father's library, without him actually being there. He wouldn't be walking in any moment, telling them that they shouldn't be in there, or threatening to read them some dull book. She regretted, at that moment, that she hadn't told Willow about her dad dying, for some reason. Maybe it was because she was around books--She didn't know why, but she regretted it, and she wished that she would have invited her along--Actually, no, that wasn't right. She wasn't thinking that at all, at least not about the Willow in Sunnydale…

Faith watched the woman put all of her things in her suitcase, glancing over at Kennedy ever couple of seconds. She was a little worried about her sister, not just because of the crying--that was understandable--but the staring into space…there just seemed something a little off. Before she could reach out to her sister, to get her attention, she noticed that Melanie had stopped gathering her things. The woman had stopped moving, and was looking to the side. Seeing that the woman's lips seemed to be moving, she turned her head slightly, trying to focus on getting the slightest bit of sound. She got exactly what she needed--

The woman turned her head, and mumbled, "Isabel, don't--" after a moment she looked up at the girls, "I'm sorry, sometimes my mind just goes to other places. I don't want to keep you too long. At least the funeral arrangements have already been made, and the both of you can get back to Sunnydale, since the funeral is today, you won't have to stay that--"

"Wait, what?" Kennedy blurted, coming out of her thoughts.

While Kennedy was questioning the funeral arrangements, Faith was looking around the room, thinking now that maybe the answers she was seeking were in the very room she was sitting in at that very moment. Things, now, were seeming too coincidental. Everything seemed to lead her to that moment--being told to invite June to the party; finding out that she knows Dawn's friend's mother, named Isabel; and the woman in front of her just said that name--to much of a coincidence.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, rising from her seat, "I wish I could explain to you why everything is being done so quickly, but I must go," she grabbed her suitcase, "It was nice to meet you both."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Shit, I didn't make it! Well, sorry guys, I'm already worn out just from my one day of school, and I already have quizzes and tests, sorry. I'll get the rest of it up in few days, I swear. Next time on--June and Isabel continue to talk; Rachel is at the funeral; big FLASHBACK that will blow your mind!; and then I'll get to eighteen which will be awesome for you guys, and a relief for me. I'm so tired, thanks for reading, and please review. Sorry if it was a little off…I'm a little off at the moment. . Sorry, got to go to bed. -ThomThom


	31. The Eraser The Harsher Aftermath Pt 2

Howdy! I am so sorry for the bit of a delay--school is hell (just a reminder to all of you who aren't in it anymore), and it's driving me crazy during the week...oh, well. Anyways, like I said, I'm sorry about the delay, though compared to some of my previous delays, this is not so bad. Finally, I am able to get this, sort of, in between chapter out to you guys, and hopefully you guys are just as relieved as I am, because I only have one more 'in between' chapter, before I have to do a 're-make', which brings me to--For those of you who have season three on DVD, after I'm done with the next chapter, you should watch the next episode I have to re-make, so you will see the insanity that I will be going through….because of what happens in the original episode, titled Amends. It'll make you wonder, 'hmm, how the hell is she going to pull this off, considering all that she has done over the last three chapters,' but have no fear, I am here (sorry, dorky moment). Yeah, I just thought I'd give that bit of unnecessary information, must of you know that I have to do that every once in a while, anyways. On with the show, I'm glad to be giving you guys this, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading, and please review.-ThomThom

Chapter Seventeen: The Eraser/ The Harsher Aftermath (end of chapter)

June walked away from the living room window, back over to where she had been standing before, in the odd version of the Summers house. She looked at Isabel, who was still sitting in the same chair she had been sitting in the whole time, and frowned at what the woman was doing. It took her a moment to realize that the fact that the woman was looking to the side, meant something, "Tell her I said hi," she said, flatly. After a moment, the woman looked back at her, "I really don't think this is such a good idea, Isabel. Making her think that she's responsible will have horrible effects on her. It could rip her apart."

"I realize that, but there's nothing else that can be done. There is no way that I can take the chance of Kennedy ever coming for me, or you even," she paused, thinking about the fact that the girl really wasn't seeing her reasons as clear as she had hoped, 'just as stubborn as ever,' she clasped her hands even tighter, "There are only a few of us left, June, and we've been dropping breadcrumbs, lately. I understand what you are doing; what your uncle was trying to do; and what Melanie is trying to do, but I cannot allow it to be traced back to me in any way. My name must never be known, again. Our whole existence depends on it," June looked away from her, and so she didn't speak again, until the girl's eyes were locked with hers, "I have to do this to her. Kennedy is strong."

She ran her fingers through her hair, and sighed, "I just don't know if she's strong enough for this."

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The limo ride had been quiet, which was no surprise to the two sisters. What could be said on the way to their father's funeral, that wouldn't bring up more emotion, or better yet, more silence? Kennedy had attempted to question the suddenness of the burying, because she herself had had no say in it, and neither had Faith, but there hadn't even been time to question it. Sadly, it was not surprising to her that her father had had everything taken care of, and put them on more of a fast track. He wouldn't have wanted them to dwell on his death, or stick around just to sit and cry, and they both knew it, but Kennedy still found it hard to face that she had had no part in the preparation of his funeral. She hadn't chosen the casket, or the flowers; she hadn't prepared a eulogy, or any type of speech; she hadn't chosen the music, or whether there would be any in the first place; everything would be something she'd have to fully take in, and leave it as it was. The only thing she had gotten to make a decision about was what she would wear, which of course, was not a dress. She had decided on a black pants suit, which she had worn to her mother's memorial service as well, but had decided to trade the white shirt out for a black, therefore putting herself in all black. It was completely fitting, in her opinion, because there was no other parent left--nothing was left to represent the white, there was only the darkness.

Faith, on the other hand, did have a dress on. When they had arrived at the mansion, she had figured that she'd have enough time to go buy something more appropriate for the occasion, but seeing how there was no time to actually do that, she had to settle for the most appropriate dress she had, which only met the appropriate standard by its length, considering that it had skinny straps, and she didn't have a jacket. Fortunately, Kennedy leant her the jacket to her pants suit, and so then the only thing that seemed out of place were the leather boots on her feet, which, couldn't be helped. She kept her hair down, as did her sister, and tried to look her best, though such an occasion wouldn't really call for it, as she prepared herself for the possibilities of who, or what they might find at the funeral. Since their father was wealthy, and had many friends, in business and other wise, she knew there would be a few faces that she wouldn't recognize, but would have to treat with the utmost respect, because they had taken the time to show up, and express their sympathy. However, if she were to see Melanie Fryer, she could not guarantee the same politeness, when she had such an urge to question the woman on the words she had overheard earlier.

Thinking of that, Faith was mostly looking forward to their return to the mansion. Her palms weren't sweating in the dread of having to play nice with everyone at the funeral, even if she did recognize them, and knew she didn't like them--they were sweating in anticipation in terms of what she might find back in her father's library. It wasn't the type of anticipation that came with happiness, or joy, but still, it was there. Her mind wondered over the possibilities, each time drawing a blank, and each time hoping that she wouldn't find something on June that she would have to report back to Buffy, like she promised she would. Somehow, she just knew that her answers were close, and that the confusion of the past days would subside, whether it lead to violence, or not. Seeing that her father had just died, and that her mother was already dead, losing Kennedy just wasn't an option, at all. There was no way that she was going to sit back, after being told what she had been told, by the 'book', and hope that it was just lying, or incorrect. It wasn't in her nature, and it never had been, even before she had become a slayer, because as much as she had loved her parents--whether she was getting along with them or not--Kennedy had always meant more, from the day she was born. Her sister had seemed from the beginning to accept her for who she was, full front, no questions asked, and so Kennedy was the family member she could not loose. That would be the last straw for her--life would not be worth living.

They stepped out of the limo and were greeted by a grey sky above them. The sun had faded, unbeknownst to them, while the darkness of the limo had kept them locked inside. It was for the better, anyways, for the both of them. It was an actual representation of what both of them were feeling, and what Faith might come to, if she were to find any sort of information leading her towards what James had told her. Someone had accompanied them, a man they didn't recognize, who walked behind them with an umbrella, just incase it did actually rain, as they walked down the rocky path, to the area in which their father's funeral was taking place. They seemed to be the last ones to arrive, as they walked upon the mass of people, each of them saying 'sorry' with their eyes. Both of them picked out the ones they recognized, placing a sort of list in their mind, and then took note of a few unfamiliar faces, but only one face really caught their attention--Rachel's.

She gave them a sympathetic smile from where she stood, on the other side of the centered casket. Her bright blue eyes even seemed to shine even with such a grey sky, and the sympathy she was sending in their direction was immense, compared to the rest of the crowd. It was she, after all, who knew them best. Only she understood the severity of the situation, in terms of how the two would react, feel, and so on, and so despite the issues the they had faced in the more recent times, she was the one that needed to be there. No one else in the crowd really mattered to the sisters, none of them were family, that they knew of, and so the closest they had to family was Rachel--Rachel was there.

Everyone stood, all in black, as the priest began to say a sort of sermon, which neither sister really paid attention to. It was only the times that the man would mention specific things about their father that they would even look in his direction. All other times they were either looking down, or looking off into nothingness. Kennedy for a moment, noted the flowers, which she was happy to see were nice, though she didn't know what kind they were, and she was happy that her father's casket was black, and not some odd color like sky blue, which she was shocked the man hadn't chosen as a joke from his grave. Then, she went back into her own thoughts, until the priest was done speaking. She watched as everyone lined up to touch the casket, or put a flower on it, and then took a deep breath as they headed in their direction, pulling her into a world of, 'I'm sorry for your loss…he was a great man…our family sends their condolences…things won't be the same without him…' and other things that became a blur.

The casket was lowered, and everyone began to leave, as the two sisters stood still, and stared forward, except for Rachel, who had not moved at all. She had not bowed her head during the priest's prayer, neither had the two sisters, and she had not moved to whisper final words to the man, or tried to give her condolences. It wasn't until they were the only ones left, minus a few wonderers, that she walked over to the two of them--her light brown hair down about her shoulders, blowing slightly in the gentle blow of the wind. For a moment, they all stood silently, not moving, or speaking.

It was Kennedy who broke the silence, and made the first move. She pulled the girl into a hug, and sighed, "Thank you so much for being here," she whispered, meaning it entirely.

Rachel sighed, in relief, having not been sure that she would be welcome at the funeral, after what had been revealed the last time she had seen the two sisters, "Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?" they pulled apart, and she looked over at Faith, "How are you, the both of you?"

"Well," Faith shrugged, "minus the fact that our father just died, I think we're okay," she answered. The question that was really being asked was whether they had mended their relationship, and she knew it, but she couldn't out right say yes, because that wasn't true--okay, would have to work.

Kennedy looked between the two of them, noticing the slight awkwardness, and that there were some unsaid words, "Yeah, we're okay. This sort of sucks," she laughed, bitterly, "but we're okay."

"Good," she nodded, "I'm glad," if they hadn't been at a funeral--if someone hadn't died--she would have gone even further, as to say that she was glad that the mistake that Faith and her had made hadn't ruined their relationship, permanently. That thought made her sort of laugh, mentally, about the fact that she thought she could even possibly destroy such a strong bond--she couldn't imagine it being possible for anyone having the capability to tear the two apart, forever, "I hope all those people aren't going back to the mansion."

"I guess we'll find out, seein' we haven't been told much since we've gotten here," Faith rolled her eyes, "We didn't even know the funeral was today, until a couple of hours ago."

"Yeah, we've already talked to some lawyer," she looked to Faith, "What was her name, again?"

Faith pretended to think about it, "Melanie…something…Fryer."

Kennedy nodded, "She was the one that told us that the funeral was today, and then refused to answer my questions about it--bitch," she looked around, noting that there were still a few people standing a way off, "I think I'm just gonna go for a walk," she said, looking back at the two next to her, "I don't feel like talking to the suits right now. Can you handle it?" she asked, looking directly at her sister.

Though Faith really just wanted to get back to the mansion, immediately, she understood what her sister was doing, "Yeah, I got it."

"Thanks," she gave Rachel another quick hug, "It was good seeing you, again. We should hang out, or something, after things calm down."

"I would like that," she smiled.

"Bye," she walked away from the two of them, the calmness of her face turning to more of a coldness, as she made her way to a place she hadn't seen in a while, but knew she had to go there. The walk wasn't that long, but it was pretty long considering the fact that she had to walk through the entire cemetery, until she was outside of it, but still in a woodland type area. For some reason, where she was going, always gave her an unnatural calm. If all else failed, she could always go there, and so there was no other place she could possibly go to.

Once she reached the bottom of the hill, she paused, unsure if she had actually reached her destination, but when the sun peeked through the clouds, and a ray of sunlight touched her feet she knew. At the top of the hill was a lone oak tree, the sun shinning directly above it. She stood there for a moment, just staring at it, letting the temporary warmth fill her. It wasn't until the grey clouds covered the sun back up that she actually walked up the hill. She ran her hands on the trunk of the tree, hearing rain drops start to hit the leaves above, and then laid down under it, closing her eyes as soon as she found herself comfortable--on her back, facing upwards.

She sighed, "Hey, Mom."

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ABOUT NINE MONTHS PRIOR….

Somewhere in the mansion, a door slammed, making Kennedy jolt up in her bed. She looked around for a moment, unsure of what was going on, but only saw that her room was secure. After a moment of just sitting there, she heard the sound of her mother's voice, with was loud and seemed to be angry, which answered her question of what was going on , and whether she had just been dreaming. She rolled her eyes, and pushed the covers aside, so she could rise from her bed, taking in the sight of her bedroom, as well as the light squeezing through her curtains. It was spring break so they were at one of their more private homes, which slightly annoyed her, because she had wanted to hang out with some old friends over break, but that was definitely out of the question where she was, because all of her friends were very far away from where she was, and most of them had plans closer to the city, where as they seemed to be in more of the country.

Yawning, she walked to the chest at the end of her bed, and grabbed a pair of socks she had placed on top of it the night before, knowing exactly what she was going to do the moment she woke up. The sound of her mother's voice making its way through the mansion again made her laugh slightly, as she wondered what her sister had done to be getting yelled at when it was so early, compared to the time she usually woke up--though, it wasn't really shocking that Faith was getting yelled at. After she had put some shoes on, she walked out of her room, still in her pajama pants, and a tank top, not even thinking of possibly taking the time to change, because her mind was only set on one thing, and one thing alone, so what she was wearing did not matter.

"Morning, Mom," she said, as she passed the woman, who was standing outside of Faith's door, knocking aggressively. She had seen that sight many times, usually followed by the sound of her sister yelling back, but there was no trace of the sound of Faith's voice, or of her breaking anything in her room.

The woman turned to look at her, putting on her best smile as she did, "Morning, sweetie. Eat something for breakfast, please," she said, sweetly. Those were times, for her, where she couldn't help but wonder what the hell was wrong with the eldest of the two girls. All she had done was asked her not to leave the house for three days, and Faith had broke left during the first night. At least, when Kennedy had been grounded before, she actually stayed in the house--she might have invited someone over, despite the fact that she wasn't supposed to, but still, she was in the house.

Kennedy smiled, as she continued to make her way through the mansion; going down the hallways, and down the stairs, as quickly as she possibly could, hoping that the early morning wouldn't be wasted. Just as she was about to walk out the front door, she remembered that she hadn't brushed her hair, and though she didn't care what clothes she was wearing, she couldn't go outside looking a complete mess, so she found the nearest mirror, and fixed her hair as best she could, while cringing at the fact that she hadn't brushed her teeth, either. But, there was no time for all of that. She had forgot to check the mail the day before, and since the maids, or whatever, were off for spring break, because her parents were refused to ever let any of them work any sort of 'holiday', the mail hadn't been brought inside. But, before she headed back towards the front door, she poked her head into the dining room, knowing that her father would most likely be there.

"Hey, Dad," she said, looking at the man, as he sat at the table, with a plate on the table, and a newspaper in his hand, "What's going on with those two?"

He turned a page of the paper, "Your sister just got home, and I think your mother grounded her last night, so she's a little upset about it," he laughed, looking up at his youngest daughter, "I guess she didn't catch you sneaking in last night, then."

"What? What is this sneaking in you're talking about," she grinned, "I'll be back, okay?" without waiting for a response, because she knew he wouldn't really give one, she headed out of the front door, hoping that it would finally be the day. She walked past the fountain, not even stopping to glance at it, and then broke out into a jog. When she reached the gate she groaned at the fact that she had to put in a code, which consisted of a complicated way of combining her birthday, her sister's birthday, and her parents' birthday all together, to get it open.

Once the gate was open wide enough for her to even squeeze through, she ran to the mailbox, which was a few feet to the left of the gate, "Who the hell delivers the mail to this place?" she wondered, as she opened the mailbox, "How does no one end up stealing our mail?" she looked inside, first just wanting to see if there was anything in it at all--there was. Reaching in, she grabbed the envelopes, and pulled them out excitedly, filing through them one by one. Though there were plenty to go through, mostly consisting of letters to her dad, the excitement began to leave her, as she continued to look at each one, each time slowing her pace--there was no letter for her. There was nothing with her name on it that was meant for her to open, read, and probably respond to.

Frustrated, she put all of the envelopes back in the mailbox, and slammed it shut--though, it didn't slam as hard as she had wanted it to. It had been two and a half since she had sent out her last letter to Sunnydale, and still it hadn't been responded to. When she had sent it out, she had wondered whether the redhead would get upset by reading it, or be sad even, but figured in the end that she wouldn't get upset, or sad. Really, she had no reason to. They weren't together, and Willow wasn't even interested--that's what she told herself--so she concluded that the girl would be fine with it, maybe even happy for her. There was no real celebrating to be done, but there was a future possibility of celebration, because she had finally managed to get her sister's best friend--only friend if it was really thought through--to admit that there was something between them…not Faith and her friend, but her and Faith's friend. Why then, she wondered, as she still stood leaning against the brick wall that separated her family's property from a back road, hadn't Willow responded to her letter, or her last email even?

She looked up at the blue sky spotting a few clouds in floating overhead, as she took in the scent of the surrounding forest, and wondered if she had made a mistake. Not only in sending the letter out, but for giving up on Willow in general. It was just that, after waiting for the girl to admit her feelings for so long, she had figured it was time to move on, that the girl wasn't interested, and anything she had thought she'd seen had only been a crush, or something. Friends sometimes had crushed on their friends, sometimes they had multiple crushes on their friends, so why sit around and wait for something that might not even be really mean anything?

The sound of music interrupted her thoughts, and brought her back to reality--to the fact that she probably looked like some crazy person standing outside of a million dollar mansion. She leaned away from the wall, attempting to look down the street, but saw nothing. Only the sound of music let her know that someone was coming, and it was getting louder. No one that lived around them--if you could really say 'around'--ever played loud music, minus some guy that was her age that lived a mile or two off, but he wasn't in the country at the moment, so she knew it wasn't him. His parents had sent him off to a boarding school for his senior year, after they had found out that his girlfriend had gotten pregnant--and that she wasn't up to their standards of wealth, so it definitely was not him. That only really left one person, and the thought of them coming instantly made her smile--and regret that she had come outside in her pajamas, and that she hadn't brushed her teeth, yet again.

The red Jeep Wrangler made its way up the path, the music still blaring, with dust flying into the air behind it, which Kennedy rolled her eyes at, as she moved to the edge of the road. If she had had confidence in the other girl's driving, she would have stood in the middle of street, as a sort of joke, but she didn't have confidence in the girl's driving. In fact, she thought the edge might have been too close. Seeing that the Jeep didn't seem to be slowing as it came closer to her, she was glad that she hadn't gotten in the street, especially when it came to an abrupt stop, and the girl in the driver seat sort of jolted forward.

Kennedy squinted, trying to protect her eyes from the dust, "Nice driving, Rach," she yelled. She could see the other girl mouth, 'what?', so she opened the passenger door, got in the car, and turned down the radio, "I said, nice driving,"

"I wasn't expecting to see anyone standing in the road," she looked the younger girl over, "Especially not in that. Nice pajamas," figuring they'd be there for a moment, she turned the car off, and pulled her legs underneath her. It wasn't like many cars went down that road anyways, "What are you doing out here, anyways, Kenn?"

"Checking the mail," she answered.

She nodded, "Get anything, from you know who?" the other girl shook her head, "That sucks. This girl doesn't seem to be as nice as you told me. Not responding to your calls, letters, emails. I'm thinking she sounds more like a bitch at the moment," she smiled, "You didn't sleep with her and then leave, did you?"

"I don't sleep with every girl that I know," she defended.

"I know that for a fact, 'cause we haven't slept together," she leaned her head to the side, letting it rest on her seat, as she stared into Kennedy's eyes, "You could have slept with her though, if you wanted to. Act like your sister and bang everyone in sight."

"No, I leave that to her…most of the time. Pretty sure she didn't get any when we were in Sunnydale, though. Too busy arguing with Buffy, sparring with Buffy, patrolling with Buffy--Falling for Buffy, basically, then denying the whole thing. I've never seen her get so defensive in my life then when you bring up that name," she paused, "Any time you want to get her all riled up--"

"I'll remember that," she laughed, "I was coming to see if she wanted to head out to the city with me, so I can check out this new café that just opened. It's supposed to have the best espresso ever, and they have breakfast stuff, too, or something--I don't know, as soon as I heard best followed by espresso, I was like screw everything else, that's where I need to be. Now, if I could just get them to serve alcohol at night. That would be my new place to hang out."

"That would get Faith there too, but it wouldn't be today. Mom grounded her last night, and Faith decided to go out anyways, and not walk back through the door till this morning, so I'm sure she won't be leaving for a while."

"They doin' that whole yelling through the door thing, again?"

"Only Mom today. Faith isn't even breaking anything," they both laughed, thinking of all the countless times the so called rebel had broken things in the house--usually her own things for some reason, "She must be too tired from whatever she was doing last night--Or this morning, really. I thought she had gone out with you."

"She wasn't with me last night, but I did see her yesterday. I guess she's been hanging out with some random guys we don't know, or something. Last night was my night off. No going out, no drinking--"

"What, no drinking? The earth must have rotated backwards. You're telling me that you didn't go to Sammy's party last night? It was fucking awesome, I've never been so wasted in my life. I'm not even sure how I got home last night, 'cause my car--" she leaned forward, "It's not even here."

Rachel laughed, "Well, you see, I hadn't planned on going to Sammy's party, just because I get that wasted too, when that asshole throws a party. I put on my pajamas, laid down, and was like, 'this is it for the night. I know there's this awesome party up the street, but I'm not going. Not this time,' but of course things don't go according to plan for me."

"I thought you said you didn't go out," she interjected.

"I didn't go out. Or at least not what I call going out. For me that means that I actually get to go somewhere and completely enjoy myself, whereas last night--It might have been interesting, and funny, but…it wasn't my kind of going out," she paused, "You don't remember, do you?"

Kennedy frowned, "Remember what?"

"Last night, about three in the morning, you called me drunk off your ass, needing me to take you home," she watched Kennedy put her hand over her face, embarrassed by what she was hearing, "That's right. I came and got your ass, and brought you home last night. Thanks to you, I got no sleep before my mom barged in, asking me to go to some thing at a country club."

"Shit," she peeked through her fingers, "I am so sorry. I didn't wake your parents up when I called you, did I?"

"Lucky for the both of us, they're heavy sleepers," she smiled, "It's no big deal, though. I forgive you."

"I can't believe I called you--I mean I can, but that's so embarrassing, and I don't get embarrassed, usually. I am feeling a little hung over, now that I'm actually thinking about it. Let me make it up to you. I'll go to this café with you, since Faith can't go," she looked down at what she was wearing, once again wishing she would have gone through her morning routine, "I'd have to get ready, first, but I definitely want to go."

"I'm sure you do," she said, knowing the girl actually did. The thing that she was thinking about, though, sent her in a different direction, "But, no."

"No?" she questioned, "Why not?"

She shrugged, "Because I'd rather do something else with you--Something more official," she sighed, with a smile on her face, "Something to take us past the realm of you being my best friend's kid sister, and more into the realm of someone that I'm dating. You up for that?"

The one thing that was going through Kennedy's mind was that she had to keep her cool. If all else failed, she had to keep her normal cool, or she'd scream with joy and add to her current humiliation, "I think I'm up for that. No one's every asked me out when I'm in my pajamas--They usually come after."

Rachel laughed, "We'll see about all that," she reached to her keys, turning the vehicle back on, and brought her legs from under her, "How about I drive you to your door, and we'll work out the details."

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Faith poked her head out of the door, hoping that her yelling mother wasn't standing outside, with her arms crossed, and her brows furrowed. Thankfully, the woman was no where to be seen, but that didn't necessarily mean anything, and she knew it. For a moment, she just stood there, waiting for any sign of the woman--a shadow, a sneeze, breathing….anything. Once she knew for sure that there was no one around, she stepped out into the hallways, closing her door softly behind her, and walked quickly to Kennedy's room, making sure to poke her head around any possible corners before entering a different hallway. Just the sight of Kennedy's door made her relieved, and stepping inside the room, made her feel even better.

Kennedy, who was sitting in front of a mirror she had placed on her dresser, glanced over at her sister, "I'm gonna really need you to stop barging in my room like that. What if I would have been naked, or something?" she watched as her sister went and laid on her bed, moving the pillows around, to make herself comfortable, "What if I wouldn't have been alone."

"The door would have been locked," she put her arms behind her head, and leaned back on the pillow she had moved, so she would be at least sitting up enough to look over at her sister, without having to lift her head, "The one time I actually make my bed, without complaining, you would be the one to fucking mess it up."

"Of course. Who else would do it--that wouldn't be here for other activities," she grinned, "Hey, I needed top get out of my room, and going downstairs isn't exactly an option, considering how much Mom's been riding my ass today. Hell, everyday, really. All because I went out last night."

"I think it was also because she told you not to," she rolled her eyes, "This 'out' that you're talking about, it wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Kakistos would it?" she asked looked over at her sister, "'Cause if it does, I think it's time to stop going 'out', don't you think?" it wasn't that she didn't get her sister's obsession with revenge, or didn't want to get it herself, after watching the ancient vampire kill their watcher, but she knew the risk--had seen it for herself, and wasn't really looking to get killed. One day, maybe, when they were fully prepared, they could really go after him--with possible backup, but they weren't there yet.

"So, you're gonna go out with Rachel, tonight?" Faith asked, as she looked away from her sister.

Kennedy frowned, "Don't change the subject, Faith. I'm really not into the thought of losing anyone, right now, and you running off by yourself when he travels with all his light weights. Slayer powers in all, you don't stand a chance, alone."

"Just drop it," she snapped.

Kennedy stared at her for a moment, her penetrating eyes making Faith slightly uncomfortable and she knew it, but she didn't care. She wanted her message to get across to her, and since they weren't going to talk about it, then she'd send it a different way. That look she was giving was a warning. Not in the sense of her threatening her with a sort of, 'If you do this, I'll make you regret it,' but one that said, 'If you do this, you won't be coming back', and both of them understood that. It was up to the older sister to take the advice she was giving. Once that was done with, she turned in the chair she was sitting in, facing her sister directly, "It took Rachel long enough, didn't it?"

Faith laughed, "What's up with you and scanks? Rachel is like the definition of one."

"You must travel in packs, then," she laughed, only to be silenced by a pillow hitting her in the face, "No throwing things in my room. I don't like to break my own stuff, unlike someone I know."

"Yeah, yeah," she turned onto her side, propping herself up on her elbows, "So where are the two of you going? Hopefully you'll steer clear of Sammy's tonight, or any other party, since you can't seem to control yourself."

"She told you about that?" she sighed, "This whole dating my sister's best friend already has some disadvantages. I don't know what the hell I was thinking last night, to be honest. Had a little bit too much fun. One thing led to another, and then--Well, I don't remember anything else, but I know that I had a great time. I'm sure they'll be some pictures surfacing soon, that will completely confirm reputation of being--"

"A slut," Faith finished.

"A partier was more in the lines of what I'm thinking, but whatever. It's not my fault that it's not that hard to get laid around here--or in the city--that's their problem. I just appreciate it. At least I still talk to the people I've slept with, and why is that--Because I actually remember their names, and don't treat them like some sex toy of the night."

Faith grinned, "I don't do what I do to make new friends."

"It's not like you do anything these days, anyways. How long has it been now, Faith?" she asked, teasingly, "Hmm, was that before Sunnydale--I think it was. What made you give it up all of a sudden, would it happen to have anything to do with--"

"You better not fucking finish that sentence," she warned, "I get it when I want it. Right now, I'm just not in the mood," she paused, "Wait, who the hell says I'm not getting any, anyways? How the fuck would you know."

"You've been too tightly wound, lately, to be having any sort of sex. Have guys gotten boring? 'Cause if they have, you could always try the route I take--lots of my friends have had crushes on you, I'm sure they'd be willing to--" another pillow was thrown at her, "That's right, you're waiting for a certain blonde slayer to come around," she raised her hand, knowing another pillow was heading her way, and caught it instantly, "Hey, there's only two left up there, knock it out, or I'll make you pick them up."

"Stop saying all this shit about you know who, and I'll stop throwing them, you little shit," she glared. The girl's door opened, making both of them turn to see who was entering the room--Faith mostly looking to know if she had to bolt, or hide, if it was her mother. When she saw that it was only Rachel walking in, she grabbed another pillow, and chunked it at her friend, "What's this I've been hearing about you going out with my sister, now?"

"I could have kept it a secret," Rachel said, as she picked the pillow up off the floor, "Next time, I will."

"Hey," Faith pointed at her friend, "This will be illegal in a couple of months, won't it? I could turn you in."

Kennedy frowned, "I thought that was only in certain states?"

"The reason neither one of you know is because neither one of you really go to school, and when you are there, I hear that there's lots of sleeping involved," she put the pillow on the bed, "You wouldn't turn me in, anyways."

Faith rose from the bed, "You keep telling yourself that," she walked over to the door, "Everyone needs to keep their hands to their self, got it? I don't want to walk in on you guys later--You are coming back here, right?"

Rachel crossed her arms, "Why would we tell you that?"

"Good," Kennedy said, relieved, "There are some things you keep from her," she stood up, "I don't know where Rachel will be, 'cause I don't want to get to cocky about what I know will happen--" Rachel turned to her quickly, raising her brows as she did, "But, I'm going to the main house later, if you want to meet up--I won't guarantee that I'll be available--"

"Wow, the both of you are so full of your selves," she laughed.

"No," Faith said, as she headed out the door, "we're just that good," she poked her head back in the door, "I'm serious about this no touching thing, it ain't cool that my best friend is tryin' to get in my sister's pants."

"Thanks, Faith, you can get out of my room now," Kennedy waved. Once the door was closed, she looked to Rachel, "You're a little early, don't you think."

She smiled, "I like to be spontaneous."

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Faith walked into her room, once again closing the door softly behind her, and then made her way to her closet. She pushed some of clothes aside, and kneeled down in front of a old wooden chest, unlocking it quickly. With it unlocked, she looked about her again, just to make sure that no one was in her room, and also waited a moment to make sure that Kennedy wasn't going to barge in, then she opened the chest completely. She ran her fingers over the multitude of weapons, having not have touched them since her watcher had been killed, because any patrolling she did was simple enough to only take a stake. What she was about to do, however, would take more than a stake. She reached in, pushing a few things aside, and grabbed a medium sized crossbow, along with as many arrows she figured she could carry. Then, she grabbed a few extra stakes, and a bottle knife, hoping that it would be enough. All she needed was one shot, that was it. The rest of them, she didn't care about. It was only him--Only Kakistos.

Once the weapons she wanted were all set out, she had locked the lock on her chest, and put her clothes back in front of it, she put on more appropriate clothes for her outing. Mostly, she had to put on a different pair of boots, ones that would allow her to slide the stakes in, without stabbing herself, along with the knife. Whatever stakes that wouldn't comfortably fit in her boots, were put in her jacket pocket, or pants pockets, seeing that she wasn't going to where her leather ones--they didn't have pockets, or if they did, they weren't wide enough. She put a strap on the crossbow, and put it across her, along with bag full of arrows. Then, she sat and waited.

She waited for the sound of Rachel and Kennedy's voice, as they made their way out of the house, and then for absolute silence, as the sun went down outside. If things were completely silence, she would be able to hear clearly enough in the halls to know where her parents were. Really, she hoped that they were going to bed, but it was very hard to know, considering that they were on the other side of the mansion, so she would have to settle for hearing what was close enough to be heard. She took a deep breath, and for once asked for whatever that was out there to get her through the night. Of all nights, she needed to get through the one she was about to face. If not for herself, then for her family--for Kennedy. Having calmed herself, and cleared her mind the best she could, she walked out of her room, closing her door softly for the third time, and then made her way through the mansion. She walked through the longer hallways, trying to find an alternate way out of the house, and succeeded, by going out the back door. From that point on, she was running. Only running, because walking would give her time to really thing. She would think of how crazy she was acting; how she might not see daylight ever again; how her parents would be devastated, along with Rachel, and few others; how Kennedy had warned her with her stare. So she ran, because it would get her there before she could think to turn back--And it did.

She had gone from in the middle of nowhere, to a mildly populated area--sort of like the area of Sunnydale; quiet, creepy, and full of unknowing people. The place she was looking for was a little set off from the rest of the town, just like any vampire layer, it was a small abandoned warehouse, in no way comparing to the one she had seen in Sunnydale, but still as important, if not more important, to the vampires of the town. Quietly, she crept to the back of the building, and climbed a ladder on the side of it, up onto the roof, where she treaded lightly over to a large window on the ceiling.

She crouched over it first, making sure not to get so far as to where they could see her. It wasn't the first time she had been in the position she was in, though the other times had only been to get a closer look at things, and so she knew exactly what to do to get her shot. The fact that the ceiling wasn't as far up as the Sunnydale warehouse ceiling, so she wouldn't have to worry about the force behind the arrow giving out, or anything like that, which would end up getting her into more trouble than she was going to already be in, once she killed the vampire. Her escape plan was good enough for her taste; just practically jump down the ladder, and take off. If things were too intense, leave all the weapons behind, and come back for them when daylight hit. That wasn't going to happen though, she was going to make it--It didn't seem like there was any other choice but success--revenge.

Knowing exactly where each vampire was--a total of eight--she opened one side of the window, just enough to fit part of her crossbow in it, and propped it open with one of her stakes, knowing that she didn't have long until it would either fall in, or snap in half. Either way, they would know she was there. She put the end of the crossbow in, and waited, as she watched them walk around the place, beginning to settle in as if they had been called to a meeting. Kakistos, she knew, would walk to the head of them. It was only a matter of time. Her breathing was even, calm, and she was relaxed a she could possibly be, considering the situation, as the top of his bald head came into site. His cloven hands were visible, as he gestured with his speaking, but his chest wasn't in sight. Not yet.

Her finger was on the trigger, she was ready, not only for revenge, but for the peace that would follow. Finally, that sense of not being strong enough, or good enough, would fade away. She wouldn't think of herself as a failure, or a second rate slayer. She would be free of it all, with just one single shot--one single death--though, it was his second death. Finally, he was at an angle with her crossbow good enough for her to tighten her grip. She could see it as if she had x-ray vision. His head heart was underneath the red fabric of his clothing, and she was aiming for it. With a sigh of relief, she started to pull the trigger--but, it had been too long. The stake snapped in half. She reached for it quickly, trying to grab it, yelling no as she did, but it was too late. Instead of keeping the window open enough to get her shot--She fell through the glass herself, and landed directly in the center of the room…of the crowd.

The impact was harsh on her body, and if she would have had time to check, she knew she had to have cracked a rib or two, but there was no time to check. She had to forget about the shards of glass falling down on her, so she could get to her feet as quickly as possible, before they fully realized what had just happened. Before they could realize that fresh meat had entered the room. Her crossbow hit the ground beside her, and she dived for it, knowing that she had it in her reach, but a blow to the stomach slowed her down. The kick wasn't enough though, it was when one of the vampires kicked the crossbow across the room that she knew she would have to go in a different direction.

She pulled the knife and stake out of her boots, and instantly just started to fight, not really caring if it was an instant kill, she just needed them to back off--She needed some space, so she would have time to regain herself, to put herself back into focus, and find another way to kill Kakistos, even if she would be killed by the other vampires afterwards. Even knowing that it wasn't likely, though, she wasn't going to settle for thinking that she only 'might' get out of there. Her sister was waiting for her, and she knew it. She hadn't been told that the younger of them would be going to the main house for no reason; she was expected to show up. To confirm that she was okay, and that was what she was working towards. With that thought running through her hand, she stabbed, and staked countless times, but what she hadn't known was the fact that there had been more than eight. Somehow, she had not known that, and at that moment, she was starting to feel herself get tired. After each punch she received, she sent one back out, pushing a few away to stake the others, but the hits she was taking started to take more an more out of her.

That's when she saw him. She managed, somehow, to remove herself out of the circle of vamps just for a moment, and with that single move, she reached with her knife, cutting over his left eye--from above his brow, all the way to his cheek. His hand reached for his eye, having caught him off guard. But she was caught even more off guard, when his other hand was suddenly around her throat.

She grabbed his wrist, and desperately tried to pull his hand away, as she started to squeeze tighter, and tighter. Her mouth was open wide, and her throat sending out sounds of attempted gasps, but nothing was coming there. No air was going in her lungs. Her face was turning red, and her vision started to fade, but then she heard a snap. The sound was one she knew instantly--it was the sound of the trigger of her crossbow being pulled. Unfortunately, due to the fact that her body was dangling in front of Kakistos, it had not been a clear shot, and the arrow had missed its target. It was close enough, however, to make him let her go.

When she hit the ground, she turned her body to look to see who had fired the shot, knowing that it would be Kennedy. That it had to be Kennedy…but it wasn't. It wasn't her sister. On the other side of the room stood her mother, the crossbow still in her hand, and her face more serious than she had ever seen. Faith turned back to Kakistos, having heard him curse, to see him taking out the arrow, and throwing it aside.

"Kill them," he commanded.

Faith got to her feet, as quick as she could, almost feeling like she had nothing left in her, "Mom, get out of here," she yelled, but there was no time. Before the woman could leave, and before she could try to leave, the vampires left in the warehouse came after them, as Kakistos seemed to disappear, walking into the shadows with his hand covering the bleeding wound on his face.

Barely being able to take time to steady her breathing, Faith's vision still wasn't precise enough to hit the vampires around her dead on, and she knew it. With each punch, and kick she knew it, but she wasn't going to give up. She managed to pick up a stake off the ground, and take out two of them around her, but she wasn't sure how many were left. Her body was exhausted, but it kept going--She kept going. Especially after hearing a scream from her mother.

"Hold on," she yelled, pushing with what energy she had left, but the kick to the gut stopped her dead in her tracks. From her knees, she could see her mother struggling; fighting. The fact that the woman was there, still didn't seem to make sense to her, but at the moment, nothing seemed to make sense. How had things gone so terribly wrong? She had managed not only to put her life in danger, but also her mother's, but she didn't understand--She didn't understand how it was all happening.

"Faith," the woman called, "you get out of here. You get up, and you run," there was blood streaming from her mouth, and her eyes and jaw seemed to already be sweating from the impact of the punches she had taken to the face, but the woman stood strong. She fought as hard as she could, and she would continue, until she knew her daughter was safe.

"No, Mom," she said, getting to her feet, "I won't leave you," a vampire kicked tried to kick her in the stomach, but she blocked it, and ignored the pain in her arms from doing so. One behind her wrapped their arms around her, and tried to bit her, but she head but him to get him off. The other ones seemed to be fewer now, and she wasn't about to question the lucky opportunity she was receiving, as she starting to fight again, "Just hold on, please."

"Go home," the woman continued, "get your father, and tell him to take you and your sister to the sacred place, he'll understand," just as another vampire started after her, she looked her daughter square in the eyes, her command not fleeting, "Do it!"

Faith frowned at the words she was hearing. She wanted to save her mom--Of course she wanted to save her mom, but the woman was telling her to leave. For some reason, the woman was telling her to leave, and that's all she could hear. The rest of it--Everything else the woman was saying sounded like a stream of mumbling. All except, "Go home," she said, to herself, as she fought.

The woman, now on the ground, looked up, "For once, do what I tell you. Go home--Go home."

"For once," she thought, "For once," it was something she had heard many times, but this time--This time it meant more. This time--she was going to listen. Somewhere within her, she felt an unknown energy build. The vampires around her were turned to dust in a fluid motion, and any others heading in her direction, she pushed past them. All she needed to do was do what her mother had told her. For once, she needed to be the one that listened and obeyed, not the one who shut the world out in order to pursue her own vendetta. Her body moved as if it had a mind of its own, and her lungs pumped, it seem, without a single thought. Everything just happened. She just ran; she just breathed; she just looked forward. There was nothing else on her mind, or in her sight, other than home--But, there was one problem. She could hear them behind her, and home--where her father was anyways, was too far away. She would have to go to another home.

This home was closer, and it had something the mansion her father was at didn't have. It had Kennedy. She might not have know what time it was, but she knew, somehow, she knew that her sister would be there--She was always there. Always exactly where she needed to be; where she was needed. As she ran, the sound of them seemed fewer. Some of them had given up, or fallen to far behind--There was a chance that they'd all give up, if she just kept going. Once she got to the mansion, they couldn't get in anyways…

The mansion was in sight, but as she came closer and closer to it, her mind began to fill with the reality of the situation. How could she go in, and tell her sister--Her little sister, that she had left her mother to die? How could she bring about such a sadness, and not want to die herself? But with that thought, she already did. She reached the door, but by the time she got there, she only wanted to hide; to escape. What else was there to do?

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"Faith," Kennedy called, having heard the front door open, and shut. Her and Rachel were in the living room, they had been there for a while, just talking to one another, which was a change from her usual dates, but at the moment, that didn't matter. From the moment the front door opened, she had felt that something was wrong. She stood from the couch, just as her sister ran by the room, and up the flight of stairs, not stopping to even look in their direction.

Rachel stood too, wondering what was going on with her friend, "Faith," she called, though she knew it was too late to get the girl to turn around. She looked to Kennedy, "Do you want me to try to talk to her, see if she'll open up, or something? Anything?"

Kennedy looked around, thinking she had heard something, and then looked to Rachel, "There's a garage that can be reached from the basement, go down there, grab the red key from the key rack, and take the GT 500," she said, trying to sound as possible, "You got it? Take the GT 500, and don't look back. There's a garage opener on the visor, try to push it again once you're out of the garage, if you can."

"Wait, Kenn--"

"No," she yelled, not meaning to. She took a deep breath, "Just do it. No matter what you see, you cannot not stop that car, until you're home, okay?"

After hesitating for a moment, Rachel nodded, "Okay," she walked up to Kennedy and gave her a quick kiss, "I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but you better call me whenever this shit gets settled."

"I will," she said, quietly. She watched the girl take off through the house, and waited until she heard the door to the basement shut, then she walked out of the living room, and looked towards the stairs, "What did you do?" she asked, aloud, wondering what her sister had gotten herself into, but that wasn't her main concern. Her main concern was whether the older girl was okay. That was what mattered most.

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Faith moved to a corner in her room, and sat down, pulling her knees to her chest, and ducking her head slightly. She was breathing heavily, blood stained part of her shirt, and bruises covered her face, and arms. Mostly though, she felt warm tears begin to stream down her cheek. Shock had overtook her, there was nothing left, but shock, and fear, especially when she heard the sound of footsteps coming in her direction. As it approached her door, she took a deep breath, and held it. Then, the door burst open.

"Faith, what the hell is going on?" Kennedy asked, as she closed the door behind her, and locked it, he searched in the darkness for her sister, but saw nothing, until she opened the blinds in the room, and a full moon sent a blinding light into the darkness. She could see her then, sitting in a corner, with her knees to her chest, and her head buried into her knees, "What happened?" she asked, "Is that blood?" her sister reached out to her suddenly, pulling her down to the ground, and squeezing her tightly, "Hey, it's okay. Just calm down," she said, rubbing the older girl's back.

They sat that way for hours, with Faith crying non-stop, but when she heard the sound of glass breaking, she stopped instantly. She pulled away from her sister, "They're hear," she heard a door slam downstairs, "How--What--It's not--"

Kennedy looked towards the bedroom door, "Something followed you here?" she asked. From the way things were looking, Faith was in no shape to fight. She was beat up, and an emotional wreck to add to that. There was only one of the that even had a chance, though she knew it wasn't a real chance, "The weapons are in the next room, I'll have to go."

Faith tried to stop the girl, who began to rise, "No, don't go. Don't go," she said, grabbing her leg, but Kennedy shook out of it. She watched her sister walk out, and instead of going after her, she pushed herself further into the corner. Too much had happened. She had seen to much. There was no way she could watch her sister die--There was no way, so she sat there, panting as she did. Sounds traveled down the halls, through the house, and echoed in her ear, but there was never a scream--There was never a call for help. Strangely, that only made her worry more. She thought, perhaps, her sister had been killed instantly, and whatever was in her house, would soon make its way to her, and take her as well. But, after sitting there for what seemed like eternity, Kennedy walked back into the room, with blood on her clothes, and a crossbow in her hands.

"Everything's okay," she assured, "The, uh, somehow…" she trailed off for a moment, and then kneeled in front of her sister, setting the crossbow aside, "There were all these vampires, but there were these two--Some girl, and this woman--and, everything's going to be okay," Faith pulled her into another hug, "Everything's going to be okay, Faith."

Faith sobbed, still holding onto her sister tightly, "No it's not," Kennedy pulled back, and looked at her, a frown in her eyes, and Faith could only cry more, as she brought herself to what she was about to say--What she had to say, "There's something I have to tell you…" she explained the whole thing, starting from the beginning of it all. She watched her sister go through a series of facial expressions, starting with confusion, going into frustration--ending in horror.

Kennedy got up immediately, leaving the crossbow there, without even thinking. She ran down the stairs, ignoring the mess that the house was in, and ran out the front door. What Faith had told her had seemed so unreal, and yet she knew it was true--She felt it. Of all the things she had expected for her sister to tell her, it hadn't been anything involving her mother. There was no thought of her mother possibly trying to rescue Faith from Kakistos' layer. Why would there be? But the night had been so chaotic. It had went from the best date she had ever had, to a illogical fight, in what seemed like a few minutes, in the warped time she seemed to be in, at the moment.

That might have been why she seemed to get there so quickly, because to her, it seemed to happen instantly. The long run had seemed short, almost as if it hadn't happened, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that she was there, because what was really on her mind at the moment, was the fact that the sun was about to come up. She knew, that if her mother had to have been bit, while the vampires were attacking her. It was impossible for her to have not been. Whether she had been changed or not, was a different story, but either way--she was dead, and if she had been turned, there was no way that she was going to let the woman die such a painful death as being engulfed in flames. Finding that the front entrance was locked, and ceiled, she went around to the back, only to find that she was in the same situation. She could feel the temperature rising, smell the coming morn, and it made turn to more of a desperation. When she spotted the ladder on the side of the building, she figured that she'd go in exactly the way Faith had gone in--hopefully without being attacked by vampires. All of them, if there were any left, should have been in hiding, with the sun being so close to rising, and that's what would protect her. She just needed to stay in the light, as soon as it broke into the warehouse.

Looking down through the broken glass, she couldn't see anything but blood on the ground beneath her. There was no sign of any vampires, and she couldn't see her mother either, which scared her into thinking that maybe they had taken her, but she knew that the only way to find out was to go down and look--To push aside any fear that was trying to consume her. Without even questioning whether it was safe to jump down, especially since their were shards of glass below her, she threw herself into it, and landed on her feet, slightly crouched down. It had been painful, no doubt about that, but she wasn't going to really think about that, not when she could see her mother from where she stood.

"Mom?" she called, in a whisper, as if not wanting to disturb the woman. She laid flat on her back, her clothes covered in blood, her clothes were slightly torn, and her hair was a mess--Like she had predicted, there were bite marks on the woman's neck, as well as parts of her arms. Kennedy walked past the glass beneath her, and then got on her hands an knees, to get closer to the woman, "Mom," she said, again. With a shaky hand, she reached towards the woman. Just to feel if she was there--If something was there…All she felt was cold flesh. At that moment, she realized how pale the woman looked, even when there wasn't really that much light to see, she could see that the woman was extremely pale, almost seeming to be a shade of purple, or some other color that the flesh resembles when it has no life. So, it hit her then.

Without hesitation, she looked around the room, having forgotten what she needed, and of course she spotted one. Faith had explained all that she had brought to fight, and so she knew that there had to be at least one stake in her reach. Her hands no longer shook, as she took hold of it. She had to focus, to hit the exact spot it needed to puncture, and there was no way that she was going to let a case of shaky hands, prevent her from an instant kill. Taking a deep breath as she did, Kennedy lifted the stake directly over her mother's heart, just as she saw the sun start to creep into cracks in the walls, and just as one pot of light was about to land on one of her mother's lifeless hands--She plunged the stake into the woman's chest, closing her eyes as she did.

There was no question about it, she had hit the right spot--Had been dead on, but when she let go of the stake, and put her hands on the ground beside her, with her eyes still shut, she didn't feel a pile of dust--or feel it lifting in the air. She felt the cold flesh of her mother's hands. Her eyes flew open, and she moved back suddenly, seeing that her Mom was staring up at her. Her mind raced, along with her heart, and her body ached as if it had been hit with an unseen force.

Once again, her hands were shaking, as she reached towards the stake that stood in her mother's chest. She wrapped her hands around it, staring into her mother's dark eyes, and pulled it out quickly. Her mother groaned, and turned to look at the sky, which was now shades of oranges and purples. Her mouth was open, and from what could be seen, blood was inside of it, building slowly.

Kennedy touched her mother's face, "Mom?" she said, desperately wanting the woman to response. But she didn't respond. The woman took one last breath, turning to her daughter as she did, keeping her gaze for as long as she could, until her eyes seemed to be looking somewhere else, and then closed slowly, "No, Mom, please," she said, desperately. She felt a warmth crawl beneath her, and looked at the ground to see that her mother's blood--what had been left of it--was pouring out around her. This made her stand, suddenly. Her hands had blood on them--Her mother's blood was on her hands, and though she couldn't understand it…though, she couldn't explain it, the blood was really there.

Looking at her hands, she started to back away. She moved back until she couldn't move anymore, and then she slid down the wall, and sat on the ground, "Oh, God. What have I done?" the scene played repeatedly in her mind, each time making her question what had happened. How was it possible? The woman should have either been dead, or a vampire, and yet--Yet she had lived; she had survived…only to be killed by her daughter? Kennedy looked over at the woman, who was illuminated by the sun shinning through the broken window above her, and then she looked back at her hands. The blood was still there. It burned, and itched, but when she tried to rub it off on her pants, it didn't leave her skin.

She didn't know what she was feeling--If she was even feeling at all. It seemed so unreal, so impossible. But, she knew in her world nothing was really impossible. So many things had happened that night, of course it had to be topped off by something even more tragic; traumatic; catastrophic. Once again, she looked over to her mother, but this time, she didn't look over to just see her mother lying on the ground, motionless…dead. This time, there was a woman, and a girl, about her age, by her mother. Once kneeled beside her, and the other standing. The one kneeled down had long dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and her skin seem to have a slight tan. The one that was standing was a slender woman, with black hair, dark green eyes--she looked more elegant than the younger one, and more serious as well, though both of them looked completely serious.

"You," Kennedy said, getting to her feet. After looking at them for a moment, and getting over the shock of their sudden appearance, she remembered that she had seen them before, "You were the ones at my house-0-The ones they ran from. Who--who are you?" instead of answering, or even looking in her direction, the two of them started to talk in some language Kennedy couldn't understand, and she said nothing, as they went back and forth, having what seemed to be a slight disagreement. If it was, the older of the two won the argument. The blonde reached to lift the dead woman's body, and Kennedy stepped forward, "Don't--Don't touch her," she commanded, as she approached them.

The blonde looked up at her, a sort of sadness in her eyes, "Kennedy--" her voice shook, "They can't know. They can't know--," waiting to see if anything else would be said, she didn't move for a moment, but as soon as she saw that Kennedy was not going to argue, she pulled the woman's body into her arms, and stood slowly, as if trying not disturb someone in slumber.

Kennedy looked at the taller woman, opening her mouth to say something, but when the woman looked at her, her mouth closed slowly. There was nothing to be said, for some reason. There was no protest from her, at all, as they started to carry her mother out of the factory, having broke the lock off of the back entrance. She just followed silently, watching her mother's hands dangle, as well as looking at her draped back head, with her hair flowing beneath it. Her mother, she thought, had never looked so young--So beautiful, and oddly at peace. The walk was a silent one, and a long one, but she didn't really think about it. Just like when they had shown up at the mansion before.

When she had gotten the weapons, and had been attacked, she had been sure that it was over; that she was fighting her last fight, but then all of a sudden, the two people walking in front of her appeared. For a moment, they fought. They killed more than she could have even thought to kill, but then they had stopped. They had stopped, and every demon, which Kennedy hadn't been able to identify, either vanished, or ran out of the house. At that moment, she did not question them. She went to Faith instead, and was told the story of the night's events, only to be sent into an even darker, stranger place.

But, what she felt at the moment, behind all of the confusion, she felt something within her that she had never felt before. Something she couldn't explain, or point out exactly, but she had felt it the first time she had seen them. That very moment when she had made eye contact with them at the mansion, she found a confidence, a power within her to push forward, which she had. Perhaps, that was why she said nothing as they walked; as they entered a wooded area--as they walked out of a patch of trees, and into a patch of green grass. There they stopped. The taller of them lifted her hand, said a few words, and a pile of large branches appeared in front of them. The blonde moved forward, and set the body down on top of the pile, then she said a few words, and the wood was slowly climbed by a wave of fire.

Still, Kennedy said nothing. The words of the blonde had seemed to satisfy her in a way she couldn't explain, but she knew was true. Whoever 'they' were. She knew they couldn't know, so she stood there, and watched the body burn, as a strange smell lifted into the air. It wasn't a fowl smell, or the smell of the usual burning flesh, it was a smell she had never smelt before, and it seemed to have a life of its own as it filled the air, until the very end. Until there was no flesh left to burn. At this point, the black haired woman, once again spoke. The flames went out, and then she held her hands up in front of her. A box that fit across the palm of both her hands, made of a darker wood, with its top opened, was in her hands, and as she mumbled a few words, Kennedy watched a stream of black dust lift from the wood, flowing as if it were a group of butterflies swirling in the air. The moment that dust stopped, when it had filled the box, the box closed, and the pile of wood vanished.

The woman walked over closer to Kennedy, and said something to her for the first time, "Where do you want to put them?" she asked, with an accent.

Kennedy looked around her, not really knowing where she would want to lay something so sacred, but after a split second, she knew. She spotted a hill a few feet off, and at the top of it stood a single tree, with the sun shinning bright above it, "There," they walked over to the large tree, stood under its branches, and sat the box down, where it sunk into the ground effortlessly, as if it were sinking in water.

Once it was done, Kennedy laid down above the spot, staring up at the branches, and the bits of sunlight making its way through, "Leave me, alone," she said, flatly. She watched the two of them walk down the hill, and sat up when she noticed someone standing ahead of them, that they were walking towards. There was another woman, she seemed to zoom in on her as she watched her--She was tall, slim, with extremely pale skin…it looked slightly unnatural, along with her eyes, which were such a light color blue that they almost looked white. Her hair was long and black, flowing in the slight breeze that was being sent through the air. They looked at each other for a moment, Kennedy feeling a name try to find its way from within her, but it didn't come in time. As the two that had been with her, reached the mysterious woman, the woman turned and walked in the other direction, just like the other two. Then, they vanished.

Kennedy looked back up the sky then, forgetting everything else; everyone else, except for who was beneath her, "I'm sorry."

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ABOUT NINE MONTHS LATER…

June crossed her arms, remembering the day, as if it had just happened, "We've already changed it once before to make sure that she didn't remember, so why do it again?" she asked, looking over at Isabel, who was still sitting.

"You know why," the woman said, "You've been capturing her memories, along with the memories of other people, because of what she's said to them. She's starting to remember thins, somehow, and seeing us there will only raise questions--Like why we didn't bring her back, when we had the power to do it. If it had been your mother, you know what you would have done--what we could have done, or let happen even, but we didn't save her, or let it happen. Having her know things like that--"

"I understand," she said, cutting the woman off. If it would have been an earlier part in their conversation, she knew that she would have gotten punished for what she had just done, because she had been told not to, but with what they were talking about, what they were thinking about--There was no way that either one of them wanted to resort to any sort of violence, "What will be changed?" she asked.

Isabel looked away from the girl, and turned to the window, which still had the sun shining through it, though it wasn't really the sun, "People sometimes perceive events in time as something different than they actually are. They twist the images, sounds, and smells, until it becomes something new," she paused, "The reality of the situation is pushed down, becoming what they call a repressed memory. But, it always sits on the surface. It always threatens to come forth, and the truth will be exposed. The truth…from the moment she somehow survived the attack at her mansion, to the moment she plunged a stake through the woman's chest, and then carried her to a field, where she set her on fire, turning a patch of the grass black, and then gathered the black pile of dust, once the fire seemed to die--It always seems to die, in this truth, because nothing feeds it…somehow, nothing feeds it. This truth has a box in a field, perhaps left by a family that had picnicked in the area, because it's not really that hard to get to. She had gotten there, after all. The box was filled with ashes, and she went to the top of the hill, where a lone tree stood with the sun gracing its branches. There, she got on her hands and knees, and dug a hole as deep as she could. The box lies there. No one else was there; no one else had anything to do with it. It was just one of those memories, that lie at the surface."

The girl gulped, knowing that no matter how absurd the story might have been, that was what would be seen--That was what Kennedy would see, and believe, "What about Thalia?" she asked.

She thought about the woman, who had gone against her orders, "Thalia will do whatever she wants, either way."

"No," June said, as she turned away from the woman, and began to walk away, "she will do what's right."

The woman watched the blonde go to the front door, an anger trying to break her calm, and control. When the door opened, and the light shined brightly into the house, she said yelled one last thing to the girl, "I had no choice."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Thank Goodness! Finally! Okay, that's it folks…it was one long chapter, and I'm sure I have lots of questions heading my way. Let me say that I know it was weird, and bizarre--don't worry, the next chapter will answer some questions, or hint at answers. Speaking of the next chapter--Next time--Dawn realizes that something isn't quite right with Kennedy, after reading the journal, and goes to the one person that she feels will be able to explain it; Leah is upset by the changes in her life, that her mother made without even asking her; June wonders if she's done the right thing; Buffy gets an unwanted 'ok' from her mother, that makes her question things; Faith finds exactly what she's looking for, only to find out that it might be too late; and Kennedy falls into a never ending darkness after seeing the truth. Oh, wow. The next one will be my last one before I do a few re-makes, and I'm actually really happy about that, because man--all this thinking, and writing. Thanks so much for reading guys, please forgive the typos, and also, please review. -ThomThom


	32. An Unseen Truth

-1Hey, guys! Well, I was going to update my other story before I updated this one, again, but I've decided to go ahead and get this one out of the way, and out to you guys, because over the next few weeks I'll be pretty busy…possibly too busy to get the re-make done quickly. So, if it takes me forever to post after this one, that's why, and since this story has the bigger fan base, and I know some of you guys are so loyal to it--I thought I'd get this to you before school kills me. Anyways, thank you guys so much for the reviews of the last chapter, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, or were sucked into the emotion of it, because I wasn't so sure that it would pull you guys in or not…so, yay me, for pulling it off. Like I said, thanks for the reviews, and thanks for reading the story, and sticking with it through all the 'teenage drama', so you could get to the core issue of the story--which has nothing to do with teenage drama…at all. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and that lots of your questions will be answered, along with some new ones being risen--Also , I still want you guys who have to DVD to check out the episode Amends, because it's the next one I'm gonna do…take a look at what I have to deal with--blah. Thanks for reading, and please review. -ThomThom

Chapter Eighteen: An Unseen Truth

Taking a deep breath as she did, Kennedy jolted upright. Her heart was pounding, and her flesh was hot; covered with a thin layer of sweat, despite the cold breeze flowing past her. For a moment, she couldn't think of where she was--The sight of the green grass flowing in a field; the grey sky above, filled with grey clouds; the tree she sat under--none of it clicked within her as she looked around, in a panic. It wasn't until a drop of water, from the leaves above, fell on her hand that she knew exactly where she was. She remembered that she had gone there after her father's funeral, and laid down to let that calmness take over, but it wasn't calmness that she had received--her eyes had shut, and she had been pulled into another nightmare, this time more vivid--more real.

Before, there had only been blotches of scenes, mostly consisting of fire, and a feeling of foreboding, along with disgust, but the nightmare she had just had--It showed it all. It seemed so familiar, like she had really been there, really touched the stake, really felt the blood. She had felt the grip of her sister's embrace; Rachel's lips as they shared a quick kiss; the heat of the rising flames. Something within her told her that she knew--That really, she had always known. It had always been there, just below the surface. How else could she explain the fact that her sister and father thought she had gone to get her mother's body? How could she have survived the attack on the mansion? Why would she come to the hill to sit under that tree, unless there was a story behind it? Her mind raced, trying to answer the questions, 'It was just good luck…I had been trained too…Maybe the family had picnicked their before,' a series of answers flooded her mind, but none of them really felt right. None of them felt like the truth that she didn't want to see. No, they weren't the answers.

She looked around again, wondering exactly what she was doing, and why she was doing it. Another breeze passed, blowing through her hair, bringing the scent of evergreens with it. If it weren't for her pounding heart, she would have thought herself calm in that moment, but her heart brought back the questions, and this time, there were answers--She had survived the attack on her own, as her sister sat crying upstairs; she had been told what had happened, and gone to find her mother's body, to save it from burning in the sunlight, only to kill the woman by plunging a stake through her heart; she had gotten the blood on her hands, and started to panic; she had lifted the woman's body, and carried it out to the field around her--the grass was even green then; she had pulled out a match and set it on fire. It had been her that had put the ashes in a box she had spotted, a little way off; it had been her that buried the box in the soil beneath her; it had been her that killed her mother--No one else, and nothing else.

In that moment--With that thought, she lifted her hands, and there she saw that blood that would not leave her skin. The full panic rose within her, and she hurried to move from where she sat; getting on her hands and knees, to stare down at the dirt she had been lying on, 'The irony,' she thought, 'The horror,' but, really--she thought of nothing. She looked at the ground, noticing a patch that had less grass, and then she began to dig. She clawed at the ground, and started to cry in desperation, not to find what she knew was there, but to try and find that she had not done it--that she was not capable. But, before she even reached it…she knew. Somehow, she knew. Her body slumped over, and her hands stopped moving. Her fingers stopped clawing. She sat, heaving, and weeping, as she faced what she had done; stopping the denial from rushing back within her. It had been her--all her.

She looked up at the branches and leaves above her, as if she were searching for something, listening to the rain hit the leaves, and squeeze between the smallest spaces, with the direction of the breeze. Then, she got to her feet, suddenly. Her body went into a sort of automatic state, and her legs started to pull her in the direction her body wanted to go in, in its state of trepidation. There were two places it could have pulled her two--to the place where she had survived an attack, against all odds--or to the place where she had last scene her mother at her best. Either way, she kept moving, not really caring which of the two it picked, because either way, the fact would still stand--she had killed her mother, not a vampire, or anything else…her.

That's all that was in her head, even as she approached the front door. Everything that had come before that, mile after mile, had been a blur. She had not seen anything, smelt anything, or felt anything. It had all been invisible in her eyes. The only thing that let her know where she was, was the fact that when she stepped through the door, a familiar face, start to approach her.

Faith, who was in her more normal attire of a black tank top and some jeans--she couldn't find any leather pants--watched her sister run past her, with a frown on her face, "Kennedy, where have you been?" she asked, but the girl didn't stop, "You've been gone for a whole day, and you can't even answer my question?"

Kennedy hesitated for a moment, 'a whole day,' echoed in her mind, but despite it's loudness, and the obvious worry in her sister's voice, she kept going. She couldn't stop, her body pulled, and pulled, until it reached her room, where instantly it began to shed itself of all her clothes. It kept moving as it did this, going into the restroom to turn on the shower. It wanted to be clean--to get the blood off. Before it could, though, a sudden feeling of nausea made its way through, and she kneeled in front of the toilet, pushing it's lid up as she did. For a moment, she sat, but then the heaving, and gagging began. She was in that position for a few minutes, vomiting, and struggling to breath. Then, once she was done, she flushed the toilet, and walked over to the sink, where she washed her mouth out quickly, and then looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was tear stained, her eyes were bloodshot--there was some dirt as well, but not that much, and her hair was messy.

"What have I done?" she asked, herself, aloud. Her mind had fully returned, so her body was no longer stopping her from thinking, really thinking, of what she had done--but no matter how much she thought about it, she could no understand it. She could not understand how, or why, she had gone so far as to burn the body, when she could have told the truth. But, was the truth any better, in the long run? "Of course," she thought, "It was a mistake--I didn't know…I thought she was…But, burning her body--burying her there…and then forgetting. How could I have forgotten?" she thought of all the things she had heard about people who forget traumatic parts of their lives--a repressed memory, as they called it. That didn't make her feel any better.

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June looked around, relieved to see that she was back in her room, and had not been pulled back into the odd version of the Summers house. Her expression was blank, as she thought about what the woman had said to her, and what she had done, and the quietness of the room only made it worse. If their would have been some sort of sound--a television, a blinder, her mother calling--it would have distracted her, and not let her feel what she was feeling at that moment, as she walked over to her bed, and sat down. She pushed the book she had been reading, before Faith had burst into her room, aside even more, not wanting to see the sight of it, and just stared forward, not really looking at anything. But, the silence brought about something within her. She grabbed the book, and threw across the room, angrily. If anything would have been broken, she wouldn't have cared. In fact, she would have celebrated the noise of it breaking, but nothing was broken, and the sound of the book hitting the wall only lasted a moment, before silence filled the room, again, and more emotion arose.

She put her face in her face in her hands, and slowly, she stared to breakdown. The tears started to stream; her body started to shake; her throat made sounds she couldn't control--the cry she couldn't keep within her any longer finally made itself out of her, and it wasn't going to fade, "What have I done?" she cried, but there was no one to answer. She wondered how she would proceed, what she could possibly do next that would actually balance out what Isabel had done, but nothing was coming to mind. It seemed that once again, everything that she had worked for, that her uncle for, would be lost. That she had failed to get where she had needed to be, once again. This time, however, it was completely her fault. It had been her that had called Isabel, after failing on her own, the first few times--She had gone to someone more powerful, only to be reminded of just that…she wasn't in control, and she wasn't strong enough, or powerful enough to do it on her own, "How was it then," she wondered, "was she the one chosen?" there was no way to answer that question, unless she succeeded, and that seemed very unlikely to happen.

Once she was unable to shed another tear, she stood up, and walked out of her room, heading towards her mother's bedroom, which she knew would be empty, but she needed some kind of comfort. She needed to feel something from someone else--to know that she wasn't alone in what she was doing. Instantly, the smell of her mother's room gave her that bit of comfort. The smell of the pillow, which she pulled to her chest, as she sat on the queen sized bed, let a feeling pass through her, that she had not felt in a while, because she had not gone looking for it for a while. Of course, it wasn't enough to fix everything--how could a smell fix everything?--but at the moment, it was what she needed. Her mother actually being home, would have made it even better, but that would have to wait.

What she needed to focus on, was what she would need to do next. If she knew Isabel as well as she thought she did, the woman was going to do more than just change Kennedy's memories--that woman usually had her own agenda, when she felt she had to do 'the right thing…', and so the likeliness of her stopping with Kennedy, was very slim. What she needed to figure out, then, was what she needed to do, because there was only one person who even had a chance of changing Isabel's mind, and it wasn't her, or anyone she could really get in contact with at the moment, without risking the chance of exposing them. She still had her notes within her head, the images, and details, that she knew were needed to get even remotely close to completing her task--Now, she just needed to know what she had missed, but since it was the last time she could actually attempt her task, she wouldn't be able to get that information, without failing once again. Failing, was not an option.

Catherine walked into her bedroom, with a frown on her face, "June, why was the front door open?" she asked, as she sat her purse down, and took off her jacket. When she stopped moving, and could actually see the sadness, along with many other things, in her daughter's eyes, her expression changed to a more concerned questioning, "What's wrong?"

"Mom," she said, her voice making her sound more fragile than she had meant to, "I screwed up," once again, the emotions climbed their way through her. The tears that had seemed gone, began to build in her eyes, as she tried to desperately pull them in, but she knew that her mother would not be so easily tricked.

The woman went over to her daughter, sitting on the bed beside her, and pulling her close, "What do you mean, sweetie? What happened?"

She leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, and closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the warmth, "I went to Isabel for help a while back, and now she's just doing whatever she wants. She's changing things, and I don't know how far she will go."

"It will be okay," she kissed the girl on the head, and sighed, "You have to understand, June, Isabel has to protect herself," despite her personal feelings on the subject, she continued, "The fact that she helped you at all means she has faith in you. So do I," she assured.

"I shouldn't have gone to her, though. She shouldn't be involved at all," she paused, "It was going to an outsider, and there's no excuse. Now, this is the last chance that I've got to pull this off, and I'm not sure that it's enough. There are some things I'm still missing, and don't understand. How will I be able to figure it out, if she won't even give me at least two more chances?" she asked, looking up at the woman.

"Well…" she thought for a moment, looking to the side. Then, she turned back to June, "Do you want me to talk to her, about it? I could do that, if that's what you need me to do."

June, who knew the history of her family, as well as Isabel's, stared into her mother's eyes, knowing full well that the woman was willing to put herself, not only in a position she didn't want to be in, but also a dangerous position, to help. That was something she always loved about Catherine; that she was always willing to be there when her family truly needed her. The woman had gone through a lot, and to see that she was willing to go through even more, for something that seemed to be impossible, only gave June strength.

"No," she said, finally, "You don't have to do that--I think Melanie's working on it, anyways. Isabel was contacting someone, while I was talking to her, and I think it was her."

Catherine looked away, again, "They still talk?" she asked.

The girl nodded, "Apparently so."

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Dawn rubbed her eyes, and sighed. Finally, she had finished--She had read ever single page, word for word, and knew everything…and yet nothing. There had been no words that she could not understand, or any person she couldn't recognize, whether their name was mentioned or not, and yet--as she sat there, staring up at the ceiling--she couldn't really explain, or even comprehend what she had read. It had all been so enigmatic; so bizarre. Each and every page held its own mystery, and meaning, that she was unable to grasp. She could only scratch the surface, which only told her what she already knew--Something wasn't right. There was something going on with Kennedy, and now she knew--beyond what she already knew--that it wasn't only that the older girl chose not to tell her what was going on with her, but maybe she didn't have the words to explain what was going on. How could you explain--Or--How? It was all so--impossible seeming, and yet it was so evident that it was true; that it was real, and that every single word she had wrote in that journal had been honest. She had meant every single word. None of it had been a story she wanted to tell to seem more interesting…like some people did, when the thought of someone reading their secret words squeezed its way into the part of them that wanted to be more than it really was. First, she knew that Kennedy would never do that, because even minus the weirdness surrounding her, she was known to be a pretty cool person. Second, there was something about it that seemed so real, and true…It was the words that made it seem so real. No words could make it seem real…well, in any other place that is.

They lived in Sunnydale, where the impossible was possible, and your worse nightmare could come true; where the things you fear in the dark are probably there, waiting for you to lose that fear, and take a peek; where you think you know what's real, only to find out that what you thought as real, never existed in the first place. There were vampires, demons, and all types of things that were thought as tall tales, legends, or just plain fiction. The only problem Dawn was having was that what she read seemed to be outside the true reality that was Sunnydale. She knew about the demons, and vampires--What she had just read was different. It had the 'supernatural' aspects, there was no question about that, but there was so much to it, that it seemed to be even outside her realm of thinking. There had only been a few things that she could categorize as normal, where as the majority were things she couldn't begin to explain in actual words that could be said. It was obviously something that had to be seen, as Kennedy had seen it. Something that could be felt, as Kennedy had felt it.

The ordinary, she could easily explain--The entries that were about Faith, and June mostly fell under the ordinary. Just things like, 'I hate the fact that is wrapped around her finger when she is obviously up to something,' or, 'If I didn't know any better I would say that Faith has actual feelings for someone, other than Buffy.' Those things were typical--She had had the same sort of thoughts, with less anger towards June, but still…the same relative area. Then there had been some things about Oz, and how she really felt bad for how things had happened, with him walking in on that scene and all--That, however, was the full extent of the normalness. Any other entries that mention anyone that they knew, was a little odd.

It had really started with the dreams that Kennedy was having, from how it seemed. Before she went into the extreme abnormal, she wrote about her dreams, repeatedly. Usually, the same one, but with a little more detail. The one that occurred most, she noticed, always had blood, fire, or both. That one came with bad feelings, according to the journal, and were followed by weird events, that she had had no clue about--The blood in the kitchen for example. Apparently, there had been a time where Kennedy had been alone in the house, and somehow--in details Dawn could not understand--blood had ended up all over the kitchen floor, and something that had been placed on the stove had caught on fire. Then, there were the dreams where she was in a sort of different version of the world that they lived in. Dawn noticed that she herself had not been there, but Buffy, Oz, Giles, Willow, Cordelia, Angel, the Master, and other people she had heard of, but never met, where there. There were, however, a big difference. Willow and Xander were vampires, for one thing, and Buffy was some lone slayer…that wasn't very different…but from what Kennedy described, the blonde slayer was dark, and hardened. In those dreams, everything that she herself knew to be true, wasn't true. However, Kennedy always ended the entries about that dream with the same sentence, "We're the same. We are all the same."

That sentence brought her to one of the more complex things in the journal, which was interrupted by something that she had not expected--Not that she had really expected anything that she had read. Just as Kennedy had gotten to an explanation of why she hesitated on dating, who she called, 'that Willow,' she dropped the topic completely, to Dawn's surprise. Actually, she didn't just drop it, she started the whole entry, which had started with something completely different, all over again. If it wouldn't have been the first time Dawn had noticed that type of entry, it would have completely thrown her off, but since she had seen it once before, she wasn't as completely angered by it--She just hadn't expected it to happen again. That thought brought her back to the fact that there was no way that Kennedy was doing it in order to 'grab the reader'--During the time that Kennedy had been with her Dad, she had done the same repeating of entries, but when she had first read it, Dawn thought that maybe, just maybe, it was a ploy to throw the reader off, or that Kennedy was trying to more thoroughly explain the first version of the entry. But, when she saw that it was word from word--That there had been no change at all, the repeating entries was then filed under the extremely abnormal. What made it even more strange was the fact that they hadn't been day by day sort of entries, they had been week by week. The original entry, told what had happened over a week--So each and every entry had the details of the same week, at least five time, until finally things seemed to move forward.

Once time moved forward, she was given more detail as to why Kennedy had always seemed to hesitate moving forward with Willow; why she had not sounded excited when she announced that they were an official couple, which brought up the title of, 'that Willow,' compared to the title, 'my Willow.' In the beginning, she didn't really think anything of it--It could have been a joke, or some kind of weird thing that she couldn't understand, because she had never been in a relationship, but when she started to notice that there was a difference of how she 'spoke', and described them. With, 'that Willow,' Kennedy only wrote about the times she was unsure about things. She was unsure of how she really felt about, 'that Willow', and what it all meant. She was unsure of whether what she did feel, what she knew she felt, was real, in terms of, 'that Willow.' She didn't know how to fully be with, 'that Willow,' when, 'my Willow, from the moment I met her, is all I can think about.'

Of course, the fact that she had gone from, 'that,' to, 'my,' had made her hesitate, when first seeing it, but it wasn't until the description came that she really got he fact that maybe--No, not maybe--They were two different people, but that….that she found impossible, unless it was just another dream, and even then, that would make one real, and one a part of the older girl's imagination. One of them, she had written, gave her a feeling of being complete. Like nothing else in the world meant anything, and that what they felt for each other was everything. There was an unexplainable love that never faded, or lessened. Where as with, 'that Willow,' everything carried a question. The main question being, 'Is what I feel for that Willow real, or is it only because she's like my Willow--Because sometimes, when I look into her eyes…I see someone else?' From what she read, Kennedy felt that it was impossible to look at 'that Willow' and not see 'my Willow'. So, how then, could she ever truly love, 'that Willow.'

Dawn shifted the pillow beneath her head, so that she was sitting up slightly, and then brought her knees up, using it to prop the journal up. She flipped past a few pages, looking for one sentence in particular, knowing exactly where it was, the first time it was written, "We're the same. We are all the same," she said, aloud. Even for her, that sentence--those words, meant a lot, so she couldn't help but wonder what they meant to Kennedy. What did the other girl think when she wrote it, or went back and read it again, or when she heard it in her sleep, or when she felt it leave her lips--What did she feel. After reading over it a few more times, each time saying it aloud, she closed the journal, and laid it aside. There had never been a point in time where she didn't feel like Kennedy had a bit of a mysterious side, but she had no idea that it was so far as to say that she was a complete mystery. That maybe, she didn't know her at all, beyond what she was aloud to know. So, who then, did she really know?

"Kennedy," she thought, "is only one of many people I don't know, really," letting her legs lower, she relaxed in her position, for a minute, and then turned onto her side, "If I think about what she said in her journal, then I might not even know Willow, even. Someone who seems to be really simple, could be something--someone else entirely. Then, there's June--she had been mentioned. Something about things that are to come, and June always seeming to be there…visions, dreams, whatever they were, June seemed to be in the mix of it all, which brings me to Leah," she sighed, "Do I really believe that she knows June through a family connection? I hadn't really thought about it, have I? This journal, it's making me question everything--Even Leah," a knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts, making her quickly put the journal underneath her covers, and also sit up, adjusting the pillow behind her, "Come in."

The door opened, slowly, and Leah poked her head in, with sunglasses on her face, "Hey, you aren't busy are you?" she asked. Dawn shook her head, so she entered the room completely, "I just wanted to stop by--"

Dawn's brows rose, "In that?" she looked the girl over, noting the black short shorts, red t-shirt, grey zip up hoody, and--she stretched her neck to get a better look--black high-top converse, "Wow, what were you doing, exercising 80s style?"

"No," she sat down at the end of the bed, pulling her legs up, so that she was sitting Indian style, "I was just sitting around the house, thought I'd stop by. I wasn't aware that I'd have to actually get all dressed up to come over here. Plus," she took off her sunglasses, "it's more 70s than eighties--basketball style."

"Sorry, I'm not really into sports," the irony of the girl showing up was circling around in her mind, pulling her in many directions, and begging her to ask questions. To make things even more ironic, she just happened to glance over at the black box that June had given her, which was sitting on her dresser, when really she was trying to just not look at the girl opposite of her.

Leah noticed that there was a bit of weirdness, "How are you?" she asked, figuring she knew what was going on with the other girl, "I'm really sorry about last night--" Dawn laughed, catching her a bit off guard. It was as if a switched had been flipped, but shorted out before it could reach her, "I hope you're not mad," she finished.

Dawn smiled, "It wasn't your fault that I fell on top of you in front of pretty much everyone I know, Leah."

"Right," she laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed just by thinking of that moment, again, "but then all of the drama with--"

"Don't worry about all of that," she said, feeling a bit odd, while saying it. Some feeling was making its way through her that she didn't quite recognize. It was strange, but something didn't feel quite right, "Robert knocking over the punch bowl was just an accident, it's not a big deal," she shrugged, "I mean, sure, there's a huge stain on the carpet that my mom is trying to cover with a rug."

Leah, however, had not caught the slightly funny ending. She was still hung up over one word--one name that had been said. From the moment it had come from the other girl's lips, all other thoughts had left her. She had even forgotten to breath, "Robert?"

"Yeah, Robert. I mean, I wanted to call him Mr. Fryer, but he said that made him feel old, and to stick with Robert, or Rob--which was a little too weird for me, so I'll stick with…" she let the sentence trail, looking down as it did--Something definitely wasn't right.

"Dawn," Leah said, getting the girl to look at her, "are you feeling okay?" she asked, knowing the answer to the question. She could see the confusion in the girl's eyes…sense what was going on.

She frowned, "I don't know."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Sorry guys, only half a chapter tonight. I'm not sure when I'll definitely be able to finish the chapter, but I'm hoping to get it up by Wednesday or Thursday, but who really knows. I'm so tired right now…thanks to all of you for reading, and for the reviews. You guys are awesome. Let's see--Next time--Faith finds some interesting things in the library; Buffy and Joyce have an awkward talk; Leah confronts someone she hadn't expected to see for a really long time; Dawn pays someone a visit; and Kennedy…well, you'll have to see. Thanks for reading, please review.-ThomThom


	33. An Unseen Truth Pt 2 final

-1Howdy! So, this is it, you know? The final of my series of 'in-between' chapters. Are you as relieved as I am, to finally get to the main issues of the story? I've been told lately that my story is about teenage drama, or what is also known as high school drama--funny thing is, I don't quite see it that way--and most of you probably don't think so, anymore, either. What had started off simple--in a multi-drama kind of way--has grown into what it was always meant to be…beyond what could only be seen in the beginning. We're no longer scratching the surface, we're now diving in headfirst, wondering what new species of fish we'll discover on the way. As some of you know, my stories are never as simple as they seem; there is always something hidden between the cracks, or wallowing in the dirt--Well, this story, as it turns out, is no different…obviously. I hope that you all have enjoyed this ride, please exit to your right, stop by the trashcans if necessary, collect yourself, leave a few words if you have time, and most of all--come back to see us again. Much love. -ThomThom

Chapter Eighteen: An Unseen Truth Pr. 2 (final)

The day before--or the night really--Faith had been taken into the world of the rich pretenders. From the moment Kennedy had walked away from her, and Rachel, she had been busy listening to the 'sorry' and 'this must be…' of all the people that had somehow ended up at their mansion--which, when she had returned, had had tables of food, and wine, and things set up, just for the occasion, as if she should have been prepared--where the majority of the funeral goers remained for the majority of the night, along with Rachel, who she had asked to stay, since Kennedy wasn't there. The fact that Rachel was there also helped her not go into a panic, because her sister didn't seem to be returning at all. The whole situation frustrated her, really. From the moment she had left the mansion to go to the funeral, she had thought about nothing but returning to the mansion, and going to her father's library, in hopes of finding the answers she felt would be there. But of course, nothing could be that easy. No, instead of getting answers to questions that were burning within her, she had to deal with a bunch of snobs, who only seemed to be at the mansion to drink away their personal sorrows, having nothing to do with who had actually died. Kennedy being a no show had only made it worse. But, she knew that she had to be patient--as weird of a concept as it was to her--because going into a panic just hadn't seemed to be the best idea. In fact, she was pretty sure it would only convince the people to think she was in a horrible state of grief, and so they of course would need to stay…so she wouldn't be alone, when really that was all she wanted. To keep herself calm, she had decided to have a few glasses of wine--that hadn't gone well, either. Once the people left, Rachel had to walk her up the stairs, and tuck her in, so she really didn't get the chance to even step foot back in her father's library at all the night before.

At the moment, there was nothing standing in her way. There were no 'sympathetic' guests, trying to 'console' her, Rachel--who had not been a bother, at all--was not there to ask any questions, if things were to get weird, and Kennedy was home…she didn't look that well, from what Faith saw when the girl flew by her, but they had just lost their father, so that was to be expected. Really, she knew that that was probably what all her own drinking had been about, the night before, but other than that, she had no time to grieve, because if what the book had told her was true, then she would be beyond grief, if she didn't find out what was going on. From the moment she had gotten over her hangover, and Kennedy had ran through the door, she had been focused on getting to that library, and after waiting a bit, to see if anyone was going to randomly stop by, or if Kennedy wanted to talk or something, she knew it was the perfect time.

She placed her hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath as she did, and began to turn it slowly--It was unlocked, which was a relief, because with her usual luck she figured that she might have found it locked, and would then have to break the knob, or the door down, if that was what it took, but there would be none of that--It was unlocked, and ready for her to disturb its quiet peace with her search for the truth. There was no way she was going to take a chance on losing Kennedy. If it had said any other name she might have laughed it off, thinking how crazy it was for her to even be told anything by a book, which she still in some ways felt was crazy, but with Kennedy--She just couldn't take the chance. First, she walked over to a picture on his wall and took it down, knowing exactly what she'd needed, to get into anything that had a lock on it. She placed it face down, on the desk, and removed the backing of it, relieved to see the man had not changed where he placed the key--which he had, for some reason, told them to remember the location of, at all times. Once she had the key, she put the picture back, and walked over to the small shelf beside the window that had a lock on it, and held all of his prized books. Though she knew it was unlikely, she was going to see if there was another 'talking book', that her father so happened to have--After flipping through each book as carefully as she could, she saw that each of them had words on ever page, and weren't changing at all, so she put them back exactly the way they had been, closed the shelf, and locked the shelf. Next, she walked over to another large framed painting on the wall, by some famous artist she couldn't remember, and took it down to look in the safe that was hidden behind it, requiring the key as well as a combination to open it. There was no obvious place to start, so of course she was going to all of the places that had locks first, just in case it would get her the answers faster--The safe, however, only held money…lots and lots of money, which she grabbed a few twenties from, and then she closed the safe, locked it, and placed the painting back on the wall. The desk was the last place she knew had a lock on every drawer, minus one, in which the man kept spare pens, paper, highlighters, and other things like that.

Hesitantly, she sat in the chair she had seen the man sitting in times before, closing her eyes as she did. She could almost feel him there, as she sat down--But she didn't sit still for long, she looked at the drawers, counting five total, four with locks, and one without. For once, she decided to check the unlocked one first, only to find what she knew would be there, then she looked towards the ones that did have locks. She put the key in one of the holes, and started to turn it, but it wouldn't even budge, so she tried the other locks, finding that the key wouldn't turn in them either.

"Damn it," she whispered, frowning, as she looked at the key. She sat it down on the desk, and scanned the room, trying to think of any other place the man would put another key. There were plenty of other pictures, paintings, framed diplomas…all kinds of other options, but she had a feeling that the key she was looking for, wouldn't be so easy to find. Slightly frustrated, but still trying to keep herself calm, she rose from the chair, walking over to the telescope, which always seemed to be pointing in the same direction, which wasn't the sky, "You've got to be kiddin' me," she looked through the telescope, and found herself staring at a small cabin off in the distance, "Damn it, Dad--That's where I'm going, then."

Without a thought, she left the room, walking as quickly as possible without making a sound, "There always has to be something," she thought, rolling her eyes. It wouldn't take her that long to reach the cabin, she knew that, but it would take time to get there, find the key, and then return to continue to search before she would get any answers--The calmness was leaving her. That was, until she passed one picture in particular, that she had never noticed before. In fact, she had passed, and then stopped, thinking of what she had seen in the corner of her eye. She turned back around, and stood in front of it, staring at it in wonder--It was a large picture, framed in a highly designed silver frame, that had a slight ancient look to it, and there in the center was a picture of her. Sure, there were other pictures of her through out the house, but all of those were times she could remember, where as the one she was looking at--one of her sitting up in a tree, staring off into the distance, seeming to be just as old as she was at the moment, she could not remember at all.

First, she ran her hand over it, staring in wonderment, then she took it down, and laid it on the floor, face down, to remove it's back--There it was. A single gold key was taped to the back of the picture, making it's way to the list of things that were too much of a coincidence. It was as if every single step she had taken, from the moment she had laid hands on that book, had been set out for her; calling her, and guiding her. Now, she moved faster than she had before, the answers were waiting to be discovered, calling out to her, and leading her directly to them. There was no time to stay calm, or to be patient--She needed to know. When she walked into the library, she didn't bother to close the door softly behind her, she just reached back and closed it out of reflex, not caring how soft or loud it would close, but happy that she hadn't accidentally slammed it with her slayer strength. She went back over to the chair, sat down, and put the key back in the first lock she had tried, and then sat there staring at it for a moment, before she started to turn it slowly, holding her breath as she did--Sighing in relief when it turned, and unlocked the drawer.

Right on top inside the drawer, to add to the irony of everything that had led her to that moment, there was an envelope, addressed to her both her parents from an unknown address, and the name, "James Raimundo Rico-Finmere," she whispered, just before turning the envelope over, to open it. Careful not to get so excited that she ripped the envelope, or the letter within it, Faith used only the tip of her fingers, as she took the piece of paper out. It was unnerving to see that name, especially when it somehow connected to her father--The irony in that moment was too overwhelming to stop and think, because if she stopped, things would only swarm in her head, and lead her even further into a state of worry, and there was no time for that, seeing that the man had been real--That June's uncle…wrote her father.

There was no date to let her know when the letter had been written--it was hand written, very neatly--so she looked over the rest of it, halfway glancing at the pleasantries of 'how are you….hope all is well…things could be better here,' that's where she really started to pay attention. The man told her parents that things were a little chaotic, after what had happened--what exactly had happened, was something she wanted to know, but it was no where to be seen in the letter--He went on to say that there was hope, though, and that's when things really got interesting.

His final sentence read, "They are part of the blood line. Raise them as your own--James," now confused, and in a whole different state of panic, Faith threw the letter on the desk, and stared at it with furrowed brows. As soon as more questions arose, however, and her mind started to drift too far, she looked back to the drawer, to find a few more letters addressed to her parents, sometimes specifically her mother, and sometimes her father, each of them asking how things were going with, 'the girls.'

"The girls," she thought, "He means--" with that in mind, she opened the other drawers, not stopping to read anything, or even really look, until each of the drawers were open, so she could see the top layers of each one--Each drawer was filled with letters, one in particular had more than the others. She grabbed a few, scanning over who they were from, "James, Melenie--" she hesitated, "The one that knows Isabel--" that one she opened, and read over, "The rule is final, she's been assigned, and will hopefully put everything into place. As for me, I'm returning home to see my niece, and brother--If she's even with her father. Knowing Leah, she's with Isabel," Faith frowned, "Leah is her--" she moved along. That wasn't what she was looking to know, but it did connect June to Leah, in a way--in a definite way. Next, she picked up another one from James, "Things aren't working out, so far. How are the girls? I believe that--" there was a letter that caught her eye, which she grabbed immediately, "June."

She pushed all the letters she had looked at aside, thinking that she was solely about to focus on the letter she had just found, but when she pushed the letters aside, she came upon one that really caught her off guard. This letter, she had not seen, and it was not in an envelope, but it did have a date, "November 3, 2001--This is for shit. I don't give a fuck about a blood line, or whatever the fuck is going on. I'm going nuts here, and they're telling me it will be over soon, but I'm not sure they know what the fuck they're doing," it sounded right, but it wasn't until the end that she knew, it was definitely who it sounded like, "Signed, Faith--Me," she mumbled, turning back to the drawers full of letters, "How--?"

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Joyce frowned down at a few streamers on the floor, having thought they hadn't gotten them all up, or off the doorways, "Buffy," she called, "Can you please come and help me get up all the stuff that's left from the party? I don't know how we're not done yet. Maybe it's because of how many times I've been vacuuming, just to get up all the confetti."

The blonde walked into the kitchen, with a sigh, "I told you that that wasn't me," she scooped up the streamers that her mom had been locking at, and threw them in the trash, "You could put Dawn on vacuum duty. She's been laying around for the last two days--I think a distraction would be good for her."

"Leah's up there with her, right now," the woman said, while she wiped the counters, "I think that she'll be able to get Dawn out of the house."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Leah isn't really the distraction I had in mind."

Sensing the change in tone, in her daughter's voice, Joyce stopped doing what she was doing, "Buffy," she said, calmly, "I really can't understand why you're like that when it comes to Leah and Dawn's friendship. You know that Dawn has never really been friends with anyone at her school, and now that she is, you automatically have to frown upon it?" she started to wipe the counters again, and then stopped, "You know, I just don't get it, especially considering your friendship with Faith."

Thrown off by her mother's words, Buffy sort of went back a bit, "Faith--what do you mean? My friendship with Faith is--What do you mean?"

"I had a talk with Faith, during the party, because--" she paused, looking to her daughter, "I'm okay with it, Buffy."

"Okay with what?" she asked, still confused.

She sighed, "With you and Faith."

"Me and--" she frowned even harder, still unsure of what her mother was talking about, or why they were talking about Faith in general, "I don't know what you're talking about, Mom. Really, the friendship that I have with Faith is so completely different than what Dawn and Leah have--they don't even know each other."

"But, you know Faith?" the woman questioned.

Buffy shrugged, "Yeah, I do. We've known each other for a while now, and we have the whole slayer thing, too. There are so many things that connect us, unlike Dawn and Leah who are just teenagers looking for a new friend that might--" she cut herself short, not wanting to say the wrong words--to expose Dawn.

"That might what, Buffy?" the woman edged, "Like I said, I talked to Faith, and I'm really okay with it. You don't have to stand there and deny it."

"Deny what?" the slayer asked, getting frustrated, "I don't know what you mean."

"I know that I'm your mother, and you think that I'm ancient, but I want you to be able to tell me these things. Nothing that is a part of you is something I don't want to know about, or understand--not that I don't understand, because I do--"

"That makes one of us," she mumbled.

"So," she continued, "you can really just be honest. We're just talking, I'm not judging, or questioning, or upset. I'm really okay with it."

"Okay with what?" she asked, with her eyes wide, and slightly louder than she had meant to.

Joyce returned the tone, and volume, "With you liking Faith, and with her liking you."

This time, she took an actual step back, completely thrown off by what her mother had just said. Of all the things her mother had said to her, that had just topped the list of strange and unexpected. She didn't know what to say, or how to react--What could she say really, without….she was beyond confused, "Mom--" she began, quietly, "Faith and I--"

"I'm okay with it. I really am," her voice was also quiet, more calm now that her daughter seemed to understand, "I know that the both of you have had problems with one another, and that Angel--well, he's alive, and that you love him--"

"Mom, Angel--"

"Let me finish," she said, lifting one of her hands, "It's not that I don't like Angel--it's not about that at all, it's just that I see the difference between how you are when you're with him, and how you are when she's around, even if the two of you seem to be going through a rough patch, you're so much happier. What you feel when you're upset at one another--like those days that you laid on the couch all day, and told me that you were sick…those are normal emotions. I might not know what had happened, but that's how people react in ordinary relationships, while as with Angel--"

"Yeah," she looked down, thinking about what her mother was saying. The fact that she had seen through the lie was weird to think about, and even weirder since the woman had managed to connect it to Faith. Sure, Angel had been a part of it--it had been because of the lie she told about her relationship with him that her and Faith had even gone through all of that--but it was the fact that Faith wasn't talking to her, that had driven her to being a couch potato. The fact that she knew that she might have ruined any chance of them even being friends, and the fact that they had gotten past that…that was all Faith, forgiving her and letting it go. The only thing was the fact that they were just that, "We're just friends, Mom. That's all."

"Sweetie…" she trailed off, deciding to not try to fight the girl on it, "I just want my girls to be happy, I don't care who it's with, as long as you're really happy--All of you," she smiled, gently, "Have you heard from them at all?"

"No, I haven't, but I wish I had," for some reason, something within her turned at that moment. The only thought that could clearly be heard in her mind was the fact that she hadn't been told anything, but she was sure that June had--that she knew what was going on, or something close enough to the truth, while she knew nothing, "Faith is with June, anyways," she blurted, as she started to leave the kitchen.

Joyce shook her head, "No, she's not," her daughter turned back to her, and she could see it--she could see the emotions that she was trying to hide from even herself, "She's not."

There had been many times that Faith had said the same thing to her, though she did admit to feeling something for June--She had said that it was all…that it didn't compare, and all of that, but hearing her mother say it--There was something more within hearing it from her mother. She felt more assured by hearing the woman say it. The sound of someone coming down the stairs, however, pulled her out of her thoughts, "Leah," she said, as the girl hurried down the stairs, "What are you wearing?" she frowned, but the girl didn't say a word, or even glance in her direction. In fact, it seemed like Leah had only one thing on her mind. She watched as the girl went into the living room, looked around for a bit, and then walked over to a rug, which she lifted to look under, "Yeah, my mom's trying to cover the stain with a really weird looking rug. As if that wouldn't draw attention," she laughed, slightly.

Leah turned to the blonde, suddenly, as if she had just noticed her in that moment, and then softened her expression as Joyce walked up beside Buffy, "Right," she rose, and headed towards the front door, "Sorry about that, he's a cluts sometimes."

Once the girl was out the door, Buffy turned to her mother, "See, that's why I think she's weird."

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Leah opened the front door, and slammed it shut behind her. Somehow, she couldn't believe what was happening. For once, she had thought that maybe, just maybe, things would be fine--That there would be no more running, avoiding, or lying, but that didn't seem to be the case. In fact, things seemed to going right back into the cycle of things she had tried to escape from, except this time, it was worse than she had thought. Though she wasn't happy with her mother, at all, she definitely had not wanted the surprise she had just received.

Her storming into the house was cut short at the sight of him sitting in a recliner type seat, with a newspaper in his hand. His light brown hair was neat, and cut just to his ears, slightly pushed back, so not to fall into his face. He wore a light grey jacket, which almost seemed white, with a grey black striped button up shirt beneath it, light blue jeans, and black dress shoes--He hadn't changed a bit, from how she remembered him; the strong bone structured face, the rounded square chin, the bright blue eyes--She, however, was not happy to see him, at all.

"Where is Isabel?" she asked, angrily. He looked up at her, and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off before he could get a word out, "Did she even think to ask me if I wanted to go, too? I mean, it's not like I'm not used to this by now, anyways. Sure, I would have liked for us to live a normal life, just for once, but…Hello," she waved her hands, "we're not normal," rolling her eyes, she took a few steps, and then stopped again, "I'm just sick of all of it. I don't have a say in anything," he opened his mouth to speak, again, and again she cut him off, "What, you gonna feed me some lame ass excuse? 'Oh, Leah, she was only doing what she thought was best,'" she mocked, "My ass, she was. What I really can't understand is why she let me get so close to--You know what, no--that's a lie. I know exactly why she did it. The same reason she does everything else--because it benefits her. Somehow, she got something out of this, and now I'm left out in the cold. Sure, you're here, but god--" she huffed, "What the hell is that going to do?" the man looked down at his newspaper, and turned through a few pages, making her even more upset, "Whatever, the both of you can go to hell. I don't appreciate being tossed around like a rag doll--You tell her that the next time you see her."

He glanced up, watching her stomp out of the room, and then turned another page in his newspaper, at the sound of her door slamming shut, "I missed you, too, muffin."

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Faith walked out of her father's library, with her mine swarming. So many thing--There were so many things swimming with her. Swarming like bees in a busy hive. All that she had questioned, and even things she had not, were now resolved in one way, but had gained new life in another. It was all so overwhelming, and yet, as she had read the last, she had been taken over by an unnerving calmness. She had not made a sound as she placed all the letters back in their correct envelopes, and then placed them back in the correct drawers, which she locked once she was done--It was obvious to her then why they were locked, and needed to stay locked until there was another time where the information would be needed. That, she hoped, would never come again. If all went right, from the moment she left the library, until the day she knew was to come, then not only would that room never be visited again, the mansion wouldn't either.

She knew the history of the place; why it had been built, who had built it, and why it was so rarely visited. There were things within it the mansion that needed to stay hidden from those who were against them--Them. Such a strange word to go through her mind, but one that needed to remain there for the rest of her life. She had been woken up while walking down a dark winding road, which she had walked through alone in the beginning, but then was joined by many others--June was no longer the mysterious girl who she sometimes questioned, because in the dark she had whispered all her secrets, and pointed in every direction she had come from, and which direction she was going to go in at later times. Faith had been shown how the girl had ended up where she was, and why. Who she used to be, and who she was meant to be--and meant to be with. There was nothing left to make her worry about the girl being evil--She knew her entirely. James had also joined her. He was as he had used to be, not what he was at present; a book giving out clues. She knew who he was, and why he had been taken out of the world she lived in--she knew his enemies were her own. There would be no turning back for her, just like there would be no turning back for her, because if she turned back, she'd only see darkness that would eventually bring her down, as it had to many before them, and after them. Melanie had come hesitantly, as if questioning who would one day find her words, and use them to their advantage. But, when she had found that it was safe--that no one would be harmed--she walked out boldly. She provided the lines of where they stood, compared to their enemy, and who fit in which area, whether they knew it or not--which also brought forth what she had been warned would happen to Kennedy, if she had not gotten her questions answered. The mysterious who, out of the gang, that would have been the cause of her sister's demise, was no longer a mystery. They had taken full form, standing on the line that had been drawn, staring with a straight face--a knife in hand. That brought her back to June, and what June wasn't strong enough for--She wasn't strong enough to save her. Not Kennedy, or even herself. The reason behind it had put a not in Faith's throat, but it was one that she would always remember, which had been evident in her own letters.

Her own letters, though they had shocked her in the beginning, were the most revealing. They gave exact detail of what was happening, where it had begun, and where it were in, whether it be a happy ending of a sort, or a bad one. Really though, she was only tied to one in the past. For that to be changed, she would have to find a way. She would have to find what James, June, and Melanie had been searching for--In a way, however, she already knew what to do. The question was, would she be able to do it, knowing what she knew at that very moment? From what she had read, it was not the first time that question had been presented in front of her--The first time, however, had ended in a light that she never wanted to face. Because, to reach that point, would mean the end of it all. That is why she knew she needed to tell someone else, and then be forced to forget it all. She knew how to do that--how to make it all disappear from within her--so now there was only to tell someone else what she knew. Someone who needed to know…Kennedy.

Kennedy was who she needed to tell, and she knew it. Whether the girl believed her or not, didn't matter, because eventually she would. The world would force her to--They would force her to, and she'd have no choice to except it all. Nothing else mattered, but that.

Her breath was held slightly, as she made her way back through the halls of the mansion, now seeing them in a new light. Everything was seen in a new light. First, she returned the key to its proper place behind the picture of herself--someone she now recognized. Then, she headed towards Kennedy's room, deciding to take an alternate route, so she could stop by her own room so she could put the one thing that she had not put back in its place there for safe keeping--She had found a gold bracelet, carved with Kennedy's initials underneath, which had been sent by James, so she figured the girl should have it.

On the way, however, she was distracted from her thoughts, by the sound of two voices. They were women, she knew that, as well as the fact that they were arguing--though one seemed more calm than the other. It wasn't until she figured out which room they were in that she recognized the voices as Melanie and Isabel's. The conversation, she knew, was one she needed to hear, just to add to the collection of what she already knew. Strangely enough, the door was cracked open, so she was able to crouch down, and listen, as well as watch at a certain angle. Isabel was wearing a long sleeved white button up shirt, with very expensive looking black dress pants, that were set above the waist, and black pointed heels. Her black curls were hanging about her shoulder, her dark green eyes set on the other woman, having a combination of emotion flowing within them. Melanie, who was leaning against a desk, was wearing a black pants suit, her light brown hair was up in a bun, and her hazel eyes only expressed one emotion--anger.

"Isabel, you cannot go through with this," she said, in her British accent, which seemed thicker in her state of anger, "Changing the events that have occurred won't change anything, and you know it. Something will eventually be revealed, if you're only--"

"I'm changing multiple things. Do you think I'm stupid? Of course only changing Kennedy's memories would come back to haunt me, which is why I'm just going to have to change multiple memories, from multiple people," she paused, "This has to be done, Melanie. There is no other way."

The woman shook her head, "No, I don't believe that, and there was a time when you wouldn't, either," she stood from leaning on the desk, "I know that you are in charge, and it comes with a lot of responsibilities, as well as a lot of obligations, but you're being irresponsible."

"Irresponsible?" she gasped, "How dare you say that to me, with everything that has happened over the past years," Melanie looked away from her, making her give a little smirk, pleased with herself completely, "Who then is irresponsible?"

"You're b--" she looked back at the woman, "You're becoming exactly who they wanted you to be--Who you never wanted to be. And for what?" she asked, her tone returning, "So you can spend that much more time running like cowards? Because that has worked so well so far."

"Do not question our choices," she said, meaning it as a command, but knowing that none of her commands meant anything to the woman in front of her, "We live, and survive as a family. I am the one that has to protect them. I have to keep them hidden. I am the one that represents everything that we are. If they tell me that they want to keep things the way they are, that's what I'm going to work my ass off to protect."

"Which is exactly why you stepped in and helped June," Melanie huffed.

Isabel lifted her brows. It was obvious that she had meant to say something in that instant, but had kept it in, for some reason, until a moment later, when it was obvious that she had decided to say something else, "That was a mistake," was what she had settled on, "And I shouldn't have done it. Now, I am paying the consequence. But," she said, aggressively, "if you would have been there--If June would have known how to contact you, then I wouldn't have been the one that had to step in at all. Where were you, when you were needed?"

"That's none of your business," the words had come out harsher than she had meant, but she was not going to excuse them at all, "I heard her calling for me, and I knew what she wanted me to do--I also knew it would be a mistake for me, or anyone else, to do it. Look at what's happened. Look at what you're in such a panic about. Then, no one's been able to track down Thalia, which is--"

"I don't care about Thalia," she cut in, "Don't speak to me about that sad being."

"Oh," she laughed, "You don't like the fact that there's another one of us out there that pays no heed to your commands. How ironic, seeing how you acted towards the one before you--You weren't one to listen to the one in charge as far as I remember."

Isabel crossed her arms, "There are always the rebels."

"Is that what I am?" she questioned, "Then what does that make you--a traitor?" the other woman said nothing, which only made her roll her eyes, "It's been a while, hasn't it? Since you've spoken to anyone like me--someone who doesn't give a damn about the title you hold? You have to remember, I knew you before you became who you are now. I knew you when you had a heart, and really cared about those around you. When you wouldn't disrespect them by tampering with their mind, like you do so easily now. You manipulate, and abuse, without a single thought."

"Shut up," she yelled, "You don't know anything."

"I don't?" she walked over to stand closer to Isabel, "I don't know who I'm looking at, at this very moment?" no response, "Did you ask Leah what she wanted to do? Did you even consider Leah when you decided to go through with any of this? Did you consider that fact that maybe, just maybe, Leah likes it in Sunnydale?"

"Yes," she answered quietly, "and I have made it to where she can," the woman looked thrown back, "Don't be so shocked--You know me so well, right?" she laughed a bitter laugh, "I know that Leah wants to stay behind, and I've done what needs to make done to make sure that she can stay there as long as she likes," she paused, "Robert is going to take care of her."

"This is your idea of considering her?" she saw the change in Isabel's expression. What had been confident, seemed to be lowering to unsure of themselves, "What, you thought I'd be impressed? You're idea of consideration is a little different than the rest of the world's idea. Then again, I knew that too," this was definitely an area of conversation in which her confidence was secure, "Robert all of a sudden stepping in as a father will only rub the fact that her parents have a loveless marriage. For God sake, the both of you don't even call each other on your birthdays, let alone your anniversary, to even pretend that there's something there. Leah already feels like she was just an obligation--another part of your title, and job. Passing her back and forth isn't going to help."

"Leah will be fine with Rob--"

"I'm not questioning my brother's fathering capabilities," she said, angrily, "I'm telling you that Leah doesn't need a reminder of the fact that her parents married just to continue the line--" she sighed, thinking of her niece, and all that she had been through, "That they don't love each other."

Isabel looked away, and in that moment, from where she was crouched, Faith saw a spark of actual humanity in the woman. She had read about who the woman had once been--about a past that she can never return to--but it had been hard to really see, only having seen the woman at Dawn's birthday party. At the moment, however, it was evident that it had all been true. Perhaps that is why she knew what the dark woman was going to say next.

"That's not true--" Isabel said, quietly. She looked at Melanie, a complete softness and vulnerability within her eyes. Extending her hand touch the woman's face, she whispered, "I love you."

Melanie backed out of the woman's reach, and then turned away completely, walking a few steps away before turning around again, "We're not kids anymore, Isabel," was what she said first, with a slight tone of frustration, "And, no matter how much I was around before, when Robert acted like he didn't even have a child--No matter how much I love her, and how often I was there for her--I am not Leah's…I am only her aunt," she laughed slightly, "Her favorite aunt, but still--"

"No," she took a few steps, making sure to look the woman in the eyes, "Chloe is yours."

She frowned, cutting her eyes at the woman, "No, she's not, Isabel," her voice was strong in her words, "Even the dates of when you married my brother, and then announced you were pregnant, match up. Leah is yours and Robert's daughter. It's impossible for it to be any other--" she stopped speaking, and looked down for a moment, thinking hard. The silence of the room was overwhelming, but she knew it would be her to break it, not Isabel, "It was only once."

"That was enough," the other woman said, finally, "I couldn't share a child with him, so I--That one time was enough for me to perfect the spell, and a few days later…I was pregnant, and there was no going back," she took a few more steps, feeling that the other woman was beginning to break, "I wanted to tell you--"

"You did this without asking me?" she asked, tears beginning to swell, "You've disrespected me so many times in our lives--You've betrayed me, and disappointed me…but, nothing--Nothing," she yelled, "has hurt me as much as you're hurting me right now," a single tear fell, and the moment it did, Isabel tried to approach her, but she lifted her hand to stop her, "You have betrayed us both. Letting us believe that we had no one--Leave me."

"Melanie--"

The moment Isabel had said the other woman's name, Faith dropped the bracelet in her hand. She had been worried of them maybe hearing it, at first, but it had not happened. Instead of them stopping, they began to argue once again, but Faith noticed that she could not understand what they were saying. She looked at them for a moment, frowning as she did, and then back down at the bracelet, before she picked it up, and they spoke a language that she understood. She put it back down, and was unable to understand what they were saying. Then she picked it up, and could understand, once again, just in time to catch the end of their conversation.

"So," Melanie said, angrily, "That means that June is the only one left, unless--"

"Unless Leah gets married, and has a child of her own, by her husband. That is correct," the other woman said, with a bit of regret in her voice, "Like I said, there was no going back. I didn't mean for this to happen to her. I didn't want her to go through what I've gone through, but--"

"She won't go through it. I'll do everything I can to make sure of that, and I'm sure June will too," she turned away, "How long?"

Isabel looked intently at the woman's back, "Thirty minutes. It'll be done in thirty minutes. Since they're both here, it'll be easier to change their memories at a closer range--I've already started with the lesser beings."

Melanie huffed, "Of course you have," she looked over her shoulder, "No matter how much you change it, she will remember, and if she doesn't remember what she should remember she'll be coming after you--When she should be going after our common enemy. No that that's your fault."

Faith stood up, "Thirty minutes."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"I've got it, Mom," June said, as she walked down the stairs, towards the front door, passing Catherine, who was in the living room, as she did. Once again, she had turned that switch within her to off, so she didn't know who was at the door, but she preferred that if it were someone dangerous, who just happened to knock instead of barge, that it be her that has to react, and not her mother. But, who she found on the other side of the door was not dangerous, though them being there was a bit of a shock, "Dawn?"

"Can I talk to you?" she asked, nervously, with Kennedy's journal in hand. She didn't really know what she was going to say exactly, but she knew that she had something to say, and that it had to be to June. June, she felt, was the only one who could answer her questions--who could make sense of it all. Including why at the moment, she felt as if something within her was shifting.

June noticed the slight oddness about the girl, and released the magic within her, to see if she felt anything--Of course she felt something, and she knew what--no, who--it was coming from, "Yeah, sure. Come in," she said, moving to the side. Once the younger girl was inside, she looked outside for a moment, wondering if she'd spot anyone, but saw no one, so she closed the door, "We can talk in my roomm upstairs."

Dawn waited for June to pass her, and then followed closely behind her. She spotted a woman in the living room, figuring by the resemblance, that it had to be June's mother, "Hi," she said, politely.

Catherine smiled, "Hello, Dawn."

June shot her mother a look, "Can you try not to be creepy, for once," she said, guiding the girl up the stairs. She had a feeling that she knew at least part of what the girl wanted to talk about, and she knew full well why she had been chosen to talk to, but that didn't prepare her anymore than she had been when she opened the door, not knowing who would be on the other side of it. The questions, she could deal with. She just wasn't sure it was a good idea for the girl to be there at all. Once they were in her room, she grabbed her wooden chair, and placed it across from the bed, where she sat down, "You can sit, if you want," she offered.

She looked around the room for a moment, noticing how everything seemed to be blue--a lot different from what she had expected June's room to look like. She had expected it to be dark, and mysterious looking, but had instead found it pretty normal, "No, I'm fine," she placed the journal on the bed, which June just looked at, without touching her, making her feel a little nervous, "Do you know what's going on with Kennedy?" she managed.

"Yes," she answered, "but I can't tell you."

Dawn nodded. She had expected that, "Are you here to hurt anyone?" she asked, next.

For a minute, she said nothing, noticing that each second she was quiet, the girl seemed to be more anxious, along with a little fearful. Eventually, she answered, "No."

"Then, why are you here?" she asked.

June sighed, "I can't tell you that, I'm sorry. But, I can tell you, and mean it when I say it--I am not here to hurt anyone," she said, sincerely.

At this moment, Dawn sat down in the chair, "I believe you."

"I'm glad," she looked the girl over, feeling the magic flowing off of her in waves--not only just the magic she knew would be there; that belonged there, but someone else's as well. It was looming, and swarming around the girl, screaming who it came from--Isabel had started. She had been right to think that the woman would not stop with Kennedy. All the more reason for her to regret ever getting her involved.

"Where are you from?" Dawn asked, "In Kennedy's journal," she continued, "Kennedy says something about having a dream of what's to come, and that you were there, so--I'm just wondering--"

"The future--sort of…it's complicated," she ended.

Dawn sat back in the chair, even more, trying to make herself relax, "Do we know each other there?" from the moment she had meant June, she had felt that in a way she knew her. That there was something that she couldn't quite understand, every time she was around her.

The blonde nodded, swallowing hard, "Yeah, we do."

"That's how you seem to know so much about me--Why I feel like you know me, and that I somehow know you," she paused, having lost her train of thought for a moment--that weird feeling of something not being right, making it's way through her again, "Why are you here?"

The girl was fading, and her questions going along with it. She could see it in the way she sat--the way that her eyes looked distant, even when they were looking directly at her. Soon, there wouldn't be much left, but she answered the question anyways, in the simplest terms she could, "To save Kennedy."

Dawn nodded, "I believe you," she started to get up, her body pulling her to leave, but June grabbed her hand, making her look her in the eyes.

"Stay," she said, softly, "At least for a little while."

The girl blinked, repeatedly, for a moment, and then spoke, "Okay," she sat back down in the chair, "How do we know each other?"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Faith lifted the pen, looking over what she had written, to make sure that it would do the job. It didn't talk about everything that she had learned--hardly any of it was mentioned in the letter, actually--but she hoped that it was enough. That somehow the letter she had just written would convince her to do what needed to be done to save Kennedy. That it would convince her to do the right thing, no matter what the cost. She folded the letter, put it in an envelope, wrote the address it would be sent to, in order to get to her, put the mansion address as a return address, knowing that it would be Melanie that would receive it, if she wouldn't get it. Then she sealed it shut, stamped it, and walked out of the library, which she had returned to, after overhearing Melanie and Isabel.

She knew what they had missed, what would determine whether Kennedy lived or not, and that she was the only one who could make it happen, so if it were to, for some reason, not get to her it would get to Melanie, who would make it happen. Either way, it was going to happen, and she was okay with that. She hurried out of the house, and opened the gate, in order to put the envelope in the mailbox, then she went back inside, running every step of the way. She, too, could feel it all happening. Slowly, things were starting to fade away within her--ranging from moments in Sunnydale, to things she had just learned, so she had to hurry. There was only one way she figured that they might have had a slight chance, and that chance was not as close as she preferred. She would need to get Kennedy, convince her to not question her, and tell her everything she knew, while also running out to the cabin she had seen through her father's telescope.

Finally, she managed to reach her sister's room, which she found in a mess, "Kennedy," she called, looking around the room. When she spotted pill bottles on the girl's bed, she frowned, going over to pick them up, "What--?" there was a crash in the bathroom, making her heart jump. She dropped the bottle immediately, and ran to see what had happened, only to go into more of a panic when she saw the girl lying passed out on the floor, "Kennedy," she said, kneeling down beside the girl. She gently slapped her face a few times, trying to get any kind of response out of the girl, only receiving a groan, "Christ, this really isn't the time for this," as if looking for something that would get the girl up, she looked around, but found nothing, so she scooped the girl into her arms, and then left the room, moving as quickly as she could, without calling attention to herself, knowing that Isabel was still in the mansion.

When she managed to get them outside, she sighed in relief, thinking that they might just make it, but worried about the fact that she hadn't been able to tell Kennedy all that she knew. Still, she needed to get them as far away as possible, because then, there was a chance of remembering something.

They both needed to remember.

Faith closed her eyes for a second, as she reached the gate, "Something--Anything."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, well…that's it. Finally--that's the last of that. I hope that it was okay, I'm kind of sick at the moment, which is why I even had time to update at all, so it might be a little iffy…hopefully not though. That's also why I'm a little later than I had wanted to be, but at least it's done now. Um, I would like to say thanks to all of you for managing to get to this point--the story has evolved rather oddly, so I'm glad that so many of you are still around. Next time--Back to the re-makes--Some time has passed since Faith and Kennedy have returned to Sunnydale, but things are far from being the way they used to be; Joyce suggests that Buffy invite Faith over for Christmas dinner, while Buffy is already having to deal with Angel going a bit crazy, and bringing some old feelings to the surface, because of it; Willow doesn't understand what is going on with Kennedy, so she turns to someone that she probably shouldn't turn to; Dawn wonders what's going on with Leah, as well as herself; and Kennedy is dealing with the aftereffects of her trip home. Something like that--I'm not sure exactly. Anyways, it'll probably be a minute before I update this one again, but I hope it won't be too long. Thanks so much for reading, and please review.-ThomThom


	34. Backdrifts

Howdy! Well here I am…typing…for this story, and actually knowing what I'm doing. Yay, exciting, I know. See, after much backtracking, I realized that I need to do one more 'in-between' chapter. Whoa, I know, especially considering that I had just done a whole line of them before posting my epilogue thing, but I see that I rushed things just a bit, and that I need to back up--So this is the chapter at which I'm going to do it. Let me explain first, that I am going to take the 'Epilogue as a…' and the first part of 'Penance' off…hints, it's presto disappearance, 'cause there will be some re-doing of those…But, all will end up well, I'm sure. I just needed something to get me jumped started back into this, and this was the only way that I really felt myself get sucked back in. Okay well, this chapter is going to be the 'Kennedy and Faith returning to Sunnydale chapter'. It's something you didn't get to see, I realize, and so there seemed to have been a big jump, so I'm doing it now, to calm all our nerves. It's going to be quite a dark chapter, but…Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading, and for being patient with me, and please review. *ThomThom*

P.S. Title is a song by….Radiohead. Also, again, don't forget that things will be different…mostly, this chapter will show just how different things are going to be, pretty much, from this point on.…Happy New Year!

Chapter Nineteen: Backdrifts

Faith and Kennedy exited the elevator, with their bags in hand, walking into one of the many parking garages of the airport. The flight back had been just as silent as they were at that moment, as they scanned the numbers on the concrete walls…1.…2.….3. Each one going by without a word being spoken. It wasn't that they had nothing to say. No, not at all. There was so much going through the minds of both sisters, but neither spoke. For Faith it was more of a matter of being unsure of how her sister would react to her thoughts; For Kennedy, it was more of a way to keep her sanity…or what seemed to be sanity. It was about image; image of composure; image of assurance. But, what were they assuring? Their silence really said nothing; nothing seemed to be whispered through their glances, which there were few of, and mostly came from the older of them. Their silence was full in their mind, but empty in one another's--It meant nothing, and made them feel nothing…nothing other than what they were already feeling.

Spotting the car ahead, once again, Faith glanced over at her sister, taking in what she saw--The worn looking jeans, the grey zip up hoodie, with a dark blue shirt underneath, her messy wet seeming hair--No question that she hadn't bothered to really do anything with herself before they had left the mansion, just as she hadn't the days before…when she was at the mansion to dress herself…Pushing those thoughts away, Faith for once, opened her mouth to speak, in order to see if her sister was okay with driving, but before she could even form the first word of the question, Kennedy was holding out the keys to the car, in her direction. To be honest, Faith had expected Kennedy to say that she was fine--Those seemed to be the only words that she knew how to say since everything had happened. But, there was no, 'I'm okay,' with an attitude, or otherwise. There was simply an exchange of keys from one hand to another, which really didn't put any of Faith's worries at ease. Kennedy letting someone, especially her, drive the car she loved so much--definitely not the normal of sorts.

The drive, as awkwardly as it had begun, for Faith, who hadn't driven anywhere in months, was just as silent, and it seemed it was going to stay that way, unless she was the one that was going to say something. She had a question; one that she knew Kennedy hated hearing, but one she couldn't help but want to ask. It had pulled her out of her own thoughts, putting her right back into worrying about her younger sister. Instead of speaking right away, she simply kept looking over at the girl, who was staring straight forward, not really looking at anything at all. She had a habit of doing that--Staring at everything, and yet at nothing, at the same time.

Feeling that her sister had repeatedly been glancing over at her, Kennedy sighed, "Will you stop doing that?" her tone was slightly aggressive, but her voice was quiet, no doubt that she was annoyed by her sister's actions. She knew what her sister was wanting to ask; could feel it, even, "I'm fine, okay? I'm fine," after a moment, she spoke again, "Your constantly looking over here is really just getting on my fucking nerves, okay, so just stop."

There it was. Though it was the most words that Kennedy had said to her in a while, that attitude and aggressiveness filled every word that she spoke. Really, that answered the question for her; Kennedy was not okay. No, she was far from it, actually. Returning to Sunnydale brought Faith hope. Her being with her sister had obviously done nothing to help the girl, so she hoped that the people back in Sunnydale, her second family of sorts, would bring Kennedy back to life. Knowing that Kennedy was a bit off, Faith had called Buffy and told her to let everyone know that they'd be coming back, though she had told the other slayer that they'd be returning in the afternoon, when really they had come back in the morning hours. She just knew that Kennedy needed some time; that she herself even needed some time before the questions started; before they possibly had to discuss what had prompt them to stay gone a bit longer than they had original planned. The sisters themselves had not discussed it, so Faith knew that they just weren't ready to talk to everyone else about it--Well, not everyone who would constantly ask, anyways. But, that was the problem; they would constantly ask. If not with their words, then with their eyes. Neither one of them were ready for that--

The drive seemed to be over quickly, though they both knew it wasn't the shortest drive from the airport to the Summers house. But, they had both been so far into their own minds, that everything they passed had been a blur. They could only see where they were going, and what that would come with--The emotions, and the questions; the hugs, and the smiles--But, really, would they themselves be smiling?

Faith got out of the car, quickly, "I'll get them," she said, grabbing Kennedy's bags out of the backseat. It wasn't that she was in a rush, but she knew how slowly her sister moved, lately, so if she outpaced her, it gave Kennedy less time to argue, or to complain about the fact that Faith was treating her like a wounded puppy. She watched her sister get out of the car, and stare at the house for a moment; an actual staring instead of seeming to look through it--They both felt it. They were being pulled back into the world of the sociable. At the mansion, they didn't have to talk to anyone, or even see anyone, if they didn't want to, but here…they had no choice. Things were going to change--After another minute or so, they both headed towards the door. Faith looked at the keys in her hand, seeing the one she needed to open the door, and then slowly unlocked the door, and pushed it open, hoping that everyone was gone like she had planned. And, they were.

They walked in, closed the door behind them, and stood in front of the door, glancing around for a moment--Maybe looking for any sign of a change, they weren't sure, but they were looking for something. Faith handed Kennedy her bags, and then forced a smile, which Kennedy huffed at, "Yeah, you put on your brave face, now," she said, flatly.

Instead of responding with anger, Faith just nodded, "Get some rest, I'll come by later," she said, staring into her sister's eyes. Kennedy just turned and headed up the stairs, not saying a word. It was either silence, or that darkness…she preferred the silence, at the moment. Once Kennedy was out of her sight, she walked out the door, still with her sisters keys, because there was no way that she was going to give Kennedy the chance to leave, so she was going to take the car. There was someone she wanted to see, anyways--

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Dawn walked into the classroom, with her hands on the one strap of her back pack that was actually over her shoulder, her eyes searching for Leah in the mass of teenagers, who had yet to sit in their seats. It was her biggest class, and the one that annoyed her the most, but Leah was in it, so it was getting easier and easier to ignore the obnoxiousness of everyone else in the room. Finally able to spot who she was looking for, because Leah wasn't sitting in their usual spot, Dawn began to make her way through the crowd, occasionally having to apologize for bumping into someone. But, just as she was opening her mouth to say 'hey' to Leah, as if to announce she was there, a familiar face appeared directly in her line of vision…and it wasn't the good kind of familiar, either--

"Dawn Summers," the boy grinned, "You going over to sit with Leah?"

Jimmy Swartz. A name she didn't like to hear, and a face she didn't like to see--Ever. He wasn't exactly known for being the kindest guy, but for some reason he was known as being the coolest. That was, to everyone but Dawn, who couldn't stand him at all, and hadn't liked him since she had arrived in Sunnydale, and first met him, by means of him completely embarrassing her in front of everyone that she knew--She didn't like to talk about it. Dawn knew just what kind of interest he had in Leah, "Yeah, actually, I am," she answered, standing her ground completely, "That is, if you, you know, get out of my way."

"You sure do love to hang out with her, don't you?" it wasn't really a question, and both of them knew it, "But, wow, I just haven't seen the two of you that much lately--Not together, anyways," he crossed his arms, "I wonder what that's about."

Dawn rolled her eyes and squeezed between him and a desk, continuing to make her way over to Leah, who was simply doodling on a piece of paper. It was true, they hadn't been hanging out all the time, like they had before, but Dawn hadn't seen a threat in that. Sometimes, friends can be a little distant. It didn't mean that they were going to stop being friends…it was like a break, or something, "Hey," she said, as she sat down, setting her back pack down beside her.

Leah turned her head slightly, "Hey," she returned in a hushed voice, then she went back to her doodling, making sure not to show excitement in actually seeing Dawn. That was how she had been for a couple days--Distant, and it was for reasons she knew Dawn wouldn't understand…couldn't understand, even. She herself wasn't really sure what she was doing, but she wasn't going to let her and Dawn get any closer until she knew for sure. Even if that meant hurting Dawn in the process, though she wouldn't be trying to, she was going to make sure that their friendship was simply that--They weren't best friends, or anything beyond that. Just friends. If that.

"So," taking a deep breath, Dawn crossed her arms on the desk, and scooted forward on her chair, "Kennedy, and Faith," she added, "they're coming back today."

She nodded, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, they're set to arrive a little later, and to be honest, I'm a little nervous about it. Not because I don't want them to come back, or because I think things are going to be weird--It's just that, I'm worried about her--About Kennedy," taking a moment to see if Leah was going to say something, Dawn looked directly over at her friend, who was continuing to scratch her pencil on a piece of paper. Part of her was already getting upset with her, but another part of her told her that she just needed to keep talking. If she kept talking, eventually the girl would really respond, "I mean, her father just died, and her mother was already dead, so I can only imagine how torn up she is. How broken she is, you know? And, when she left, I read her journal--"

"You what?" Leah asked, putting her pencil down. She looked Dawn square in the eyes, "You read her journal? As in that little thing you write in, and pray that no one will ever ever read?"

Dawn gave a weak smile, "I warned her that I would read it. If that helps any….Look, when she left she was being all weird, and so I told her that if she didn't tell me what was going on, I was going to read her journal. And, you know what she said? She told me to enjoy the read" Leah's brows rose, and she shrugged, "Okay fine, I told her that I'd find out what was going on myself, and she told me to go for--But that's basically the same thing. I mean, how else would I figure out what's been going on with her?" she watched Leah pick the pencil back, and rolled her eyes, but continued to push her anger aside, "Anyways, in the journal, everything was all…ordinary, which was weird, 'cause I thought her life would be a bit more interesting than she gives off, but it wasn't really--There was this one thing, though," she paused, "She has this thing when she writes about Willow. Like, she'll always write 'that' Willow, or 'my' Willow, but never just Willow. And with one of them, the 'my' one, she's all in love and complete, but with that Willow, she's always wondering if she can really love her. But, I think that it's all just this thing….like, it's her trying to keep herself from loving Willow. You know what I mean? Like she's afraid of letting herself love, and I'm thinking considering all the death going around, that she's afraid 'cause she doesn't want to lose Willow. What if she comes home and she pushes Willow away? I really think that Willow is the one person that she needs most right now, since her father just died, and I'm sure she's a mess, but what if--What if she gets here and she just pushes her away and falls away into some sort of darkness, or something? And, for what, because of this whole that Willow, my Willow, mumbo jumbo?"

Having listened to what Dawn had said, Leah had felt herself grow more and more tense as the words flowed into her ears, seeming to have an echo effect in her mind. In fact, she had grown so tense that when Dawn had finished talking, and she had released the grip on her pencil, it was only to find that she had snapped it in half. She sighed, letting the two halves drop onto her desk, as the teacher called for the class to get quiet, so they could begin working for the day. Leah knew for sure, however, that her mind would not be able to concentrate on whatever the woman at the head of the class was about to say. She knew the truth behind the two Willow's in Kennedy's journal, and it had nothing to do with any kind of mental block, built because of a fear of loving someone. No, she knew Kennedy wasn't afraid to love--That wasn't her part to play, that was Faith's part. It was because things in Kennedy's mind were starting to blur; the past, present, and future were beginning to bleed in her mind, because forces beyond her were deciding to change the world through her, without giving her any sort of clue as to what was going on. There was no question in her mind that the Kennedy that Dawn would see later that day would be beyond broken. She would be lost, and confused beyond all means, and it was all because of the lies that surrounded everything that she was. They were all so clueless.

Dawn looked over at Leah, seeing a change in her expression, and frowned, "Everything okay?" she asked. Leah simply shrugged in response, which pressed her to her limits of being silent about how differently the other girl had been acting, "Things seem different," she began, "with you, and--and with us. You've been a bit distant--"

"I'm sorry that I don't want to spend every single waking moment with you," she said, looking Dawn in the eyes for a moment, before looking away, "Don't take it personal, or anything."

"Don't take it personal?" she asked, angrily.

"Dawn," the woman said, getting the girl's attention, "No talking while I'm talking. I shouldn't have to tell someone your age something so small as that."

Dawn simply nodded, and watched as the teacher began to work a few problems on the board, explain something about things she didn't care about, or understand really. She leaned in Leah's direction, "Don't take it personally?" she asked again, but in a whisper, "How can I not take it personally?"

"Easy. Just don't," she didn't want to do it; she didn't want to be mean, or hurtful in any way, but with the way things were going in her life, there was no room to pull in a civilian, and even the sister of the slayer--though, there was so much more to the teen next to her--was a civilian considering who she herself was. She was the daughter of one of the most powerful women in many dimensions, and realities--Becoming friends, actual friends, or anything else, with someone outside of her world just wasn't an option. Not until she knew what she was going to do. She felt that she needed to do something to move things along. To help things finally come to an end.

"Leah, I know we haven't known each other that long, but I don't want us to be like this. You--" she hesitated, "You know you mean a lot to me, and I know that I mean a lot to you, so whatever it is that's going on, don't push me away because of it. Just tell me what's going on," she pleaded.

"Really, Dawn, you're just making everything into a big deal, as usual. We're just not as close as you thought, okay? It's not a big deal. Friends come and go. Life goes on, so start living now…with less of me," she looked over a bit, spotting the one person she knew Dawn disliked more than anyone at the school, and leant over to tap him on the shoulder, "Hey, Jimmy, tonight, you and me?" she asked.

The boy grinned, "You know it. Where ever you wanna go," he looked over at Dawn, winked, and then turned back around.

Looking between the two of them, Dawn felt herself start to struggle to breath, "Please tell me you're not--" she stood up from her desk and all eyes turned to her. The teacher was telling her to sit down, but she heard nothing; saw nothing, but Leah, and Jimmy…the person she cared for more than she had cared for anyone, and the person she disliked more than anything. Not even thinking to grab her bag, she started to make her way through the room quickly, not wanting to be there anymore. She didn't care about the threat of calling her mother that the teacher was throwing in her direction, she just needed to leave; she needed to be somewhere else.

Leah watched Dawn practically run out of the room, fighting the urge to chase after her, until she was out of sight. Then, she looked down for a moment, staring down at her broken pencil, before seeing, out of the corner of her eye, that Dawn had left her back pack. She reached over and grabbed it, putting it under her own seat, with a sigh. Then she looked at the teacher, who was going on and on about how she couldn't believe what had just happened, which was not exactly what she wanted to hear for the next hour or, so she stood up, grabbing Dawn's bag as she did, and also walked out of the room. But, it wasn't to chase after Dawn at all. She just didn't feel the need to be there. Not anymore. Not when she knew she was destined for something else, and was ready to face that fact.

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Kennedy finally stopped pacing--Stopping dead in front of the bed, looking down at her bags, one of which she had not had when she had left Sunnydale, after hearing of her father's death. That was the bag that she grabbed suddenly, with gritted teeth, unzipping it angrily, and pulling all the clothes out of it, throwing them everywhere in the room, before grabbing the bag itself, and throwing it against a wall, grunting as she did. Her breath was quick, and her body shook, but that wasn't anything new to her--Not lately. If she could have, she would have ripped the whole room apart, but it wasn't hers, and her mind at least acknowledged that. It might not have acknowledged much else since she had realized what she had done, and started to spiral within herself, but it acknowledged where she was, and who's things were in the room she stood in.

Next, she left the room, and went into the hall bathroom, where she turned the faucet on, and splashed some water onto her face. For a moment, she pictured herself, slamming her fist into the mirror, and the glass shattering everywhere. She imagined the pain, and the warmth of the blood running down her knuckles, but that only brought about the image of her hands being covered in blood, once again. Covered in her mother's blood, 'Blood,' she thought, 'There was so much blood. All of it hers…none of it mine, when it should have been…it should have been me--I don't deserve to…,' as usual, her thoughts cut themselves short, and she found herself simply staring forward for a moment, still breathing in quick short intakes and outtakes. She wasn't sure how long she had stood there, by the time she felt herself blink again, but she knew it had to have been a while--It seemed to get longer and longer; the amount of time she seemed to be nowhere at all, but there was nothing she felt she could do about it…nothing she wanted to even do about it. She was lost, and she knew it. She was broken, and she knew it. But, what she knew most of all was--She was a murder.

No longer wanting to have even the possibility of catching sight of herself, she left the bathroom, averting her eyes from any sort of shiny surface in the process. She hated looking at herself--She hated looking into her own dead eyes. Once back in Dawn's room, she took off her hoodie, and then her pants, before sitting at the end of the bed, beginning to shake even worse. Flashes of that day kept spreading in front of her, and she tried to push it away. Tried to just put herself into a state of nothingness, but all the blood, and the fire; the dirt, and the sun; all of it just kept appearing in front of her. The blood was on her hands. So warm, and thick. A sort of wetness that was like nothing else. She closed her eyes tightly, and slammed her fists down on her thighs repeatedly, trying to feel anything other than what she was feeling--The guilt; the pain; the darkness; and the thing that she couldn't necessarily make out…a sort of insanity trying to break through her; trying to devour her completely. So she kept pounding her thighs, over and over. Second after second, until she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. At that moment, she stopped moving; stopped shaking, and just sighed in relief, because for a moment, she felt all of it disappear. That's what happened, sometimes. Sometimes she'd be so far gone, and then she'd feel this warmth on her shoulder, as a hand was placed on it, and it would just all go away. She could see so clearly, and feel all the weight be lifted. But, every time she turned to see who it was…every time she let her curiosity get the best of her, she'd only turn around to see no one there, and find herself falling once again.

She knew it had to be her. She was really going out of her mind, and there was no one that could reach her. Not where she was. Not with how far she had fallen into what she now knew to be herself. In her mind, it was all over. There was nothing that could be done, and so no matter how much she fought, in the back of her mind, she heard herself tell her that it was too late--To just let it consume her. To let it win, and take over. But, what was it, exactly? That was what worried her, and it was what made her fight again, when she felt that it had almost taken her completely--But, still, she didn't break herself away completely. She let it have some of her, and she felt that, one day, she'd let it have all of her.

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Faith walked up the stairs of the house, surprised at how easy it had been to even be permitted to come inside in the first place. In fact, when she had knocked, she was expecting to have to explain herself, even though the last time she had been there, had gone really well, but seeing that it hadn't been June that had answered the door, she had been expected to have to work to be let inside. To her surprise, however, Catherine had simply said hello, and told her that June was up in her room. There were no harsh words, or even any bad looks, it had all been calm, and easy. Now, she was just having to keep herself calm, and tell herself that she could do what she had come to do. It was something she was new at, after all--While at the mansion, dealing with all the badness that was happening there, she had done lots of thinking, in terms of what she was feeling, which wasn't usually her most frequently visited area…She thought about Buffy, and June, and everything that had happened with the both of them--The good times, and the not so good times. Both of them, she knew, meant something to her, but there was such a strong difference in what she felt for the two blondes. One of the connections she understood completely, whereas the other one…she wasn't sure why, but it was just there, and there was no way of denying it, either.

Before knocking, she closed her eyes for a moment, making sure that she could do what she was about to do; that she was strong enough to do it, and wasn't going to go in, and come out the same way she had entered--Alone. Then, she knocked, even though she knew that June had to have known that she was there, because she always knew; always felt it. She heard the girl tell her to come in, and entered slowly, "Hey," she said, with a slight smile.

"Oh, hey," June smiled, sitting on her bed, with a book in her hand, and another one beside her, along with a pen and a highlighter. She laughed, "That was me pretending that I didn't know that you were here, or that you've been standing outside my door for a while," after folding the corner of the page she had been reading, she closed the book in her hand, grabbed the other one, and went to put them on her desk, "You can sit, if you want."

Faith sat on the bed, "So, how've you been?" she asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" she walked over to the bed and sat down, pulling her legs on the bed, as well, "I've been okay," she answered, honestly, "How've you been?"

"I've been better, but I'm starting to do okay," that was the truth. She definitely had been better, though never truly good, but with what she was feeling, and where she was at that very moment--She was starting to feel okay; like everything was going to be okay.

"That's good," she gave a gentle smile, "I'm glad that you're back, and that you're not, you know, completely--"

"Lost? Or, should I say, as lost?" she smiled, "Yeah, you know, I thought that I'd be sort of a goner, in a way, since Dad died, but I really just had a lot of time to think while I was gone, and I think that that's what kept me sane. Now, Kennedy…she's a different story, but I'm thinking being back here will do her some good. Get all the Scooby gang to force her to see the bright side of it all, you know?" for a moment, she just stared into June's eyes; those pulls of blue that were brighter in that moment, than she had ever noticed them to be. She wasn't sure why, but at that moment, she realized just how beautiful they were, and how much warmth they brought her. Sure, there were some issues there, she could see that darkness lingering behind them, rooted from all the things she kept hidden, but even with all of that--They seemed to be the most beautiful things she had ever seen, 'Yeah, this is it,' she smiled, having realized that she had been staring, and looked down slightly.

June laughed, slightly, "What?"

"Nothing," she couldn't help but smile, as she said that--An actual smile instead of some sort of grin. Was it possible that she was genuinely nervous? Yes, she was definitely nervous. She wasn't unsure of herself, or anything, and she knew that the other girl definitely cared for her--she definitely hadn't tried to hide it--but still, it was a jump. A big jump, and one she had never taken with anyone, "You know," she looked back to June, "I missed you."

"Oh yeah?" she grinned, "How much?" Faith just rolled her eyes, "Did you miss me a whole lot? Was I the only thing you could think about?" she teased, knowing full well that she definitely hadn't been the only thing on Faith's mind. Her father had just died after all, and she was sure that Kennedy was a mess, considering everything…but, she couldn't help but to tease her just a bit. That's just what they had--And, though there was something concerning Faith that had been bugging her, she was trying not to let it show. She wasn't sure what she was even going to do with the bit of information she had received, "I was, wasn't I? 'Cause I'm so amazing, and you know it."

"I think you're just a little full of yourself," Faith laughed.

June lifted a brow, "Me? No. I'm only repeating what I've been told."

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't me that said it, so you might want to dial it down just a little," she looked to June's hands, which were in her lap, and hesitantly took one into her own, rubbing the back of it gently, before turning it over, and rubbing her palm, while staring at their hands intently.

Watching Faith as she rubbed her hand, June felt herself, starting to back away, on the inside. If she had not had to have explain it, she would have cried in that moment, because she knew what was about to happen; what Faith was there for, and she knew that she couldn't give it to her--That no matter how she felt, or what she wanted, there was something that needed to be done, and Faith's actions just confirmed it. But, at that moment, she found herself unable to pull her hand away, 'At least,' she thought to herself, 'I'm not going for it, myself.'

"I never got to really thank you," she finally spoke, looking back to June's eyes, "For what you did for me, before I left, after storming in here like a crazy person," she laughed, "I guess I do that a lot--Act crazy when it comes to you, and not in a good way, either. But…but, I don't want it to be that way. Not anymore. June…"

"Yeah?" she said, in a whisper. In her mind, she was begging Faith not to do it; not to say anything relatively close to what she knew the slayer was about to say. Because if she said it, that would mean that June would have to do something she didn't want to do--She would have to say no. Yet, she couldn't help but want to hear what she had wanted to hear for so long, and it wasn't 'I love you' or even anything close to being that really--it was just an actual admission that they had something. That she wasn't just drowning in her own feelings.

Faith lifted her hand to June's face, pushing back some of her hair, and slowly leaned towards her, "I want to be with you," she whispered, just before their lips touched. She felt herself sigh when she felt June begin to kiss her back, and she scooted over closer to her, without breaking the contact of their lips. Her fingers made their way into June's hair, as she opened her mouth slowly, wanting to feel even closer to her--For once she was really sure that she wanted more, and wasn't afraid of what was happening--Wasn't afraid of showing just how she felt, and what she wanted, or going after what she wanted.

June on the other hand, was telling herself to stop, before it went to far--She could feel the warmth from Faith's body getting closer and closer to her own, and the fingers in her hair were driving her forward, along with Faith's opening mouth…but, she couldn't…she just couldn't, and she needed to make herself stop, before she was too far gone. It wasn't until Faith's other hand moved to her waist, however, and her own hand began to reach towards the slayer, that she actually pulled away, "Stop," she said, breathing heavily, "Faith…no."

"No?" she frowned, also breathing heavily, "Why?" was it possible that June was actually going to give her a reason to be afraid, beyond what she was giving her at that moment? She wasn't expecting that--to be told to stop, or to hear the word no escape from the blonde's lips, at any point, "What's wrong?"

"No," she shook her head, and stood up, trying not to look over at Faith, "I'm not going to be whatever it is you're wanting me to be, here. I can be your friend, but I can't won't be anything moreS. Maybe," she paused, "Maybe we shouldn't even be friends."

"What?" Faith stood up instantly, moving to stand in front of June, who wouldn't even look at her for a single moment, "What are you talking about?" she asked, "You're not making sense--Me and you, we've got something, and I might not understand it completely, but I know that it's there, and I don't want to fight it anymore. If you think that I'm just going to end up running again, I'm not. I won't leave you like I did before."

"You saying that--," June said, as she around Faith, going to stand by her window, "it won't change anything. It's just not going to happen. We're not going to happen…not ever."

"Please tell me that you don't mean what you're saying. That you're just freaking out, and for once being the one that's about to run, so I can just stop you now. So I can show you that I'm for real. June--" the blonde simply shook her head, which made Faith even more confused by what was happening. She walked over to her, grabbing her arm to make her turn around and look at her, "I don't understand," she tried to fight the tears that started to build in her eyes, but it was too late, they were going to fall, no matter what she did, "All of a sudden, you don't want this? Is that what you're saying?"

Building herself to being able to say it, June took a deep breath, and nodded her head, "Yes, Faith, that's exactly what I'm saying," the slayer started to back away from her, "I'm sorry…" she whispered, fighting back her own tears, as Faith's began to fall.

"Bullshit," she yelled, "This is bullshit. What, is this about whatever it is that you're fucking here to do? Is it because of whatever secret you have? Because, if it is, I don't care. I don't care about that anymore, June, and--and…" she could feel herself starting to panic, something she wasn't expecting, but it was hitting her full force, "I can't…I can't handle this--"

"Yes. Yes, you can," June said, sensing that Faith was starting to break down, "Just breath…There will be other people, Faith. Other people that you'll care about, and--"

"I don't give a shit about other people," she shook her head, "This isn't about other people, this is about you and me," feeling slightly light headed, she sat down on the bed, "Oh, God--" suddenly, she stood up, and ran out of the room, leaving June standing there, not even calling for her to stop. For some reason, she felt that her world was shattering. The one thing that had been keeping her in tact…had it all been a lie? Had everyone been right to suspect that June truly was just messing with all of them in some attempt to get her own plot carried through?

After standing still for a moment, June looked around the room, her eyes moving constantly, as her tears finally spilled over. The one thing she wanted most…the one thing she had always wanted had just shown up at her doorstep, and she had had to push it away. She hugged herself tightly, and then put her hands over her mouth, and just screamed--Her room, as if the sun suddenly didn't exist, went dark, and she just screamed and screamed, until her voice cracked, and just wouldn't work anymore. Then she went over to her desk, throwing the books she had been reading against the wall, before opening the top drawer of her desk--There it was…the letter that had arrived just the day before--A letter written by the slayer herself, forgotten after Isabel had decided to gone through with erasing, and changing, the memories of all that were involved in what was being done. It was because of the letter that she had said no--Inside, there had been two letters…one to her, and one to Faith, both of which she read. The one to her had foretold her showing up the day that she arrived back in Sunnydale, and to remember what her task was, and that it had nothing to do with building a relationship with Faith, at all, and that was true. It also told her what had to be done next--What needed to be done to save Kennedy, and that was what really ripped her apart inside….

She grabbed the letter that was too her, and started to rip it to shreds, as all of her anger, frustration, and sadness began to flow from within her. As usual, the task she was destined for her had put her through hell…only this time, it was to a whole new level. It was time to let go. It was time to move forward…all other things aside. She just wasn't sure if she was ready for it--No, she wasn't ready at all.

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Buffy and Willow sat down in the cafeteria, both not really getting anything to eat, but getting something to drink instead, "So," Buffy said, with a sigh, "Today's the day."

"Yep, today is the day," Willow nodded, "They come back…and we get to see just how well they've dealt with what happened--I still can't believe that Faith just called you and told you like that."

"I know, I can't either, but at least….at least she didn't sound all broken. I mean, she definitely wasn't with the hurrays or anything, but I don't know, she just seemed to be--Okay," she paused, "I guess that's good, though. That she sounded like she was doing okay," she thought about the conversation she had had with Faith, which had been very brief, but strangely refreshing. She had gotten answers to what was going on, which definitely wasn't pleasant to hear, but at the same time, she had been relieved to just hear the sound of Faith's voice. She had worried, since the sisters had been gone for longer than anyone had expected them to be, that maybe they weren't going to come back, at all, so when she got the phone call from Faith, saying that they would be home that soon--there was no way she couldn't be happy about it.

"Yeah," the redhead took a sip of her drink, "But, I don't think that Kennedy is okay. I just have a feeling that she's not. That when I see her she will be devastated, and just completely lost. I've been feeling a little weird lately, and just feeling like she's been calling for me--I probably sound crazy, don't I?" to be honest, she had felt crazy each and every time she had even thought she felt anything at all, or when her mind would suddenly just echo her own name, in Kennedy's voice. But she felt it. She felt it completely, and part of her ached each night, because there was nothing she could do. Even if it had just been her imagination, Buffy telling her that Kennedy's and Faith's father had died, made her wish that she had been with Kennedy even more.

"Hello, you're talking to a girl that's destined to fight off vamps, demons, and all sorts of nasty, for the rest of her life. The abnormal no longer seems so abnormal. I'm sure that if Kennedy is the one that's all broken, that you're the one person that she wants to see most in the world--I wouldn't be surprised if you've been feeling all, connecty with her. You guys do have that thing, after all."

Willow laughed, slightly, "Yeah…And, I have to be all supportive, and strong, even if she starts crying, and I want to cry, 'cause she's crying. I mean, it's not like Kenn is a big crier, so I bet it's all aww, and I'm just going to have a meltdown with her--I'm not going to be helpful…"

Buffy smiled, "I'm sure you just being there will do all sorts of good," Willow nodded in response, then she continued, "I wonder what the extended stay was about though--Do you think they just needed a bit of time, maybe?"

"Maybe," she shrugged, "Or, maybe they had some stuff to take care of, with the family assets. I'm sure there was lots to take care of in that department, from what Kennedy has told me about their mansion…s," she added, "I'm sure that was what it was…hopefully," she took a deep breath, "I hope they're at least semi-okay…like really okay, the mendable type of okay. So," she paused, "what are you gonna do? You know, to make up for…your whole not going to see Faith, before they left, situation?"

"Oh that little thing," Buffy said, sarcastically, "I planned on begging for forgiveness on my hands and knees, but I don't think that is really the way to go," her best friend shook her head, "I was just thinking of going by to see her at the motel later, and apologizing. Be all supportive and such, if she wants me to be, but she might have someone else in mind in that area--"

"Or, she might not," Willow interrupted. She spotted Xander walking towards them, "Well, whatever you do, don't go all mopey with thoughts of Faith and June on the brain. Buffy," she said, in a serious tone, "if you, you know, want to be more…then, you gotta prove yourself. Make her all swoony again, by means of being a shoulder to cry on, and always being there. Even when she says she doesn't want you to be, 'cause her and Kennedy got it bad with that whole thing. Just, don't screw up…this time," Buffy gave her a look, "I'm just saying. Now, make up your mind--Friends, or more than friends."

Xander sat down at the table, "More is always better," he smiled, looking at his tray of food that was in front of him, piled on with all kinds of things that shouldn't go together.

"See, even Xander's smart…sometimes," the redhead smiled, "Suddenly, I'm hungry. I'll be back."

After Willow left the table, Xander looked to Buffy, "What was I smart about?"

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, well that's only half of it, but yay! I updated! I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter, and that it didn't disappoint in any ways at all. Sure, it's not all cheery, but if it would have been, you guys know you would have been thinking that you were reading the wrong story, or that I had updated with a chapter that was really for one of my other stories. So, yeah…Anyways, next time--Dawn sees Kennedy, but finds herself going somewhere else to deal with everything; Leah comes to the conclusion that it's up to her to take the pressure off of everyone, at least for the time being; Buffy goes to see Faith, who seems to not be as okay as she had thought; and Willow goes to Kennedy, finding just what she expected…Okay, well, I'm hoping to really get that up soon--Like this weekend maybe, or tomorrow, who knows, but it will be soon--Thanks so much for reading, and please review. -*ThomThom*

P.S. sorry for any typos…


	35. Backdrifts Pt 2

Hey guys. It's obvious that I'm not getting back into things as fast as I had wanted, but I'm hoping that that will change soon. I have already gotten everything set up for the chapter after this, so I will tell you that it will be one more in-between, and then I'll be in the land of rewrites for a while, but I think all of you will be pretty entertained by the chapter that follows this one, for sure. It's a little different from all the other chapters, and it's a look at how things would be if everyone were to suddenly be, uh, happy, I guess. This chapter, however, is the conclusion of the not so joyous chapter that I put up a while ago, so it's also a little bit on the downer side, but I hope that you all enjoy it nonetheless. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading. -*ThomThom*

Chapter Nineteen: Backdrifts Pt. 2 (end)

Dawn turned the corner into her neighborhood, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist, as she walked as quickly as she could, without breaking out into a run, or even a jog. From the moment she had stormed out of her class, she had felt that need to just be home. To feel that comfort that came with being within those walls, despite the fact that no one would be there. It was because she knew, eventually, her family would come; her mother, her sister, and even Kennedy would all be back in that house, by the end of the day. She needed that. She needed to feel that bit of security; that bit of stability that she could only feel when she was with her family, despite the dysfunction that seemed to follow them, at all times, 'They're all I've got,' she looked at the house, as she approached it, already beginning to feel that sense of ease 'So maybe, they're all I need,' everything else seemed to go wrong. There was always some kind of conflict, or chaos, lurking, but at the end of the day, she only wanted to go home. All of them always wanted to go home. Where else could they go? Where else would they want to go?

When she walked through the door, she took in a deep breath, and sighed. Her body instantly started to relax, as she began to walk through the house, not expecting to necessarily find anything, or anyone, but to simply walk through it. To take in the site of the living room and think of all the times they had sat on the couch watching some random movie, while eating popcorn, or pizza, or any other kind of junk food they had decided to have for the night. Each room had so many memories that brought her comfort. Sure, each one had held not so great moments too, but they didn't compare; they didn't overshadow all of the good moments.

After a moment, she headed upstairs to her room, where she planned to just rest until everyone got home, or until her mother showed up, yelling for her to come downstairs. Where else would she be? Until then, however, she just wanted to be there, and enjoy the little bit of relief. As soon as everyone started to come home, she knew that, though she felt that feeling of safety at home, there would be problems--Things weren't going to be so peaceful. Joyce would be mad at her for leaving school, Buffy would be stressing over Faith being back, and Kennedy….Seeing that her door was slightly open, she slowed down, trying to be as quiet as possible. She hadn't remembered leaving her door open, but even if she had, she felt that something wasn't right, and as she began to hear the sound of quick, difficult, breathing, she knew for sure that she was not alone in the house. Slowly, hesitantly, she carefully placed one hand on her door, pushing it open just a little more, glad that it hadn't made a sound. At that point, she was able to look at her entire room without having to enter it entirely. It wasn't until her eyes landed on her bed that she saw who else was in the house.

Her eyes went wide as they landed on Kennedy, but not with excitement, or joy, but shock. Shock beyond seeing that Kennedy was home early. That she could get; she could understand Faith lying about what time they were getting back. They might have needed some time to settle back in to everything. But, from what she saw, Kennedy needed more than a few hours of alone time. She could only see the back of her really, but even that was enough for her to see that something was definitely wrong. Kennedy was slightly hunched over, looking down at her hands, which she had palm up, hanging just below her face. She was wearing nothing but a white muscle shirt, and black underwear, exposing her purple spotted thighs. Dawn debated, for a moment, whether she should make herself known, and go over to Kennedy, but when the older teen started to cry heavily, and roughly rub her hands on the bed comforter, she knew, even if she did want to go comfort her friend, that she wasn't strong enough to. There had been no question in her mind that Kennedy wouldn't be herself when she came back, but she had not expected what she was seeing, at all. She had expected her to be quiet, distant, and more stubborn than usual, but from what she saw…She couldn't deal with it. There were things that she had expected to deal with at home, that she knew she could handle, despite all the things going on with her outside of the Summers house, but what she saw was too much, especially at that moment. It just piled onto what she was already dealing with. There was no comfort in seeing that Kennedy was home when she was like that, it only brought about worry, and fear.

She felt like she needed to run again; like she needed to be somewhere else, but that question of where else could she go was holding her back, even as she backed away from her bedroom door, and then turned to practically run down the stairs, she couldn't help but wonder where she would go. Leah's place was not an option, she was terrified at the thought of seeing Faith, after seeing how Kennedy was doing, she didn't want to go to the high school and freak everyone out, and her mother would be freaked out as well, if she were to just show up. Where could she go?

***************************************

Lara stopped walking, a frown on her face, as she watched Dawn run down the pathway, having just walked out of her Summers home. There was obviously something wrong, but she didn't call out to her to find out. If Dawn would have seen her standing there, and then came to her, she would have asked what was wrong; she would have tried to bring her some comfort, despite the fact that she had told herself to focus on other things, but Dawn hadn't seen her. She had turned from the pathway heading in the opposite direction, not even sensing that someone was watching her, at all, 'Where is she going?' Leah turned to her own house, and with a sigh, after gripping the strap of Dawn's backpack, she started to walk towards it, again, but then she stopped. She turned to the Summers house, taking a few steps towards it, and just stared at it, with slit eyes, feeling a certain darkness creep within her, 'She's back,' it was rare that she felt any sort of presence, simply because she purposely locked that part of her away, but at that moment, none of her efforts to keep herself shielded were keeping her from feeling that Kennedy was back. Beyond that, it forced her to feel others that were near her, making her turn towards her own house. Her father, she knew would be there, but there was someone else in her house as well. Someone she had not expected to see so soon. Then again, they weren't expecting her to come home.

Taking a deep breath, she made sure that she could not be felt, which was easy because she wasn't that powerful in the first place. Then, pushing that concern she had for Kennedy, and all those that would have to be around her, she walked over to her house, deciding to go through the back door, so she wouldn't be seen walking in. As soon as she walked through the door, she could hear voices. Words that weren't in English. They weren't loud, or threatening, but there was a bit of aggression within them, along with frequent sighs, letting her know that the conversation had been going on for a while, because their patience was fading. Slowly, she set the backpack down in the hallway, as she made her towards the living room, seeing that that is where the voices seemed to come from, and as soon as she caught site of them, she stopped to listen.

Robert sat upright in his recliner, his arms on the armrests, and his head held high. He looked, for once, like the king he was. Not by his dress attire, because he was in his usual button up shirt, jeans, and dress shoes, but by the way he seemed to be carrying himself. His usual slight joking manner was completely gone, and his bright blue eyes were hard and cold, instead of being soft like they usually were, "It was too much of a risk for you to take, don't you understand that? You have put us all in harms way. Taken a chance on something that has been a failure repeatedly, and for what? Why, when we can be secure and safe, put all of us in danger, and get all the others upset with us?"

Having been standing, Isabel walked over and sat down on the couch that enabled her to continue to look at her husband, his eyes following her every step of the way, "My return home has put the others at ease, and they are completely unaware of my helping June, so they aren't upset with me, anymore. They were upset because I had left them without saying a word, but they suspect nothing. "

"It was irresponsible," this time, his voice grew louder, almost into a yell, but he was too in control to let that happen. He might not have been able to control many things, but his own temper was something he always had a handle on, "There will be consequences. If they find out what you've done--"

"I admit that if anything goes wrong, I will be at fault," she interrupted, "But I also have to admit that I have always believed in the cause. I've always wanted the freedom that Melanie, and James, and June, and so many other that we have cast aside, believe in. I just never had the option of pursuing any of it, because I was destined to be a queen of cowards. I was destined to marry you, and have your children, in order to keep the bloodline going, but now that Chloe is here--" her eyes turned to the ground, as she clamped her hands together, and for a moment she was entirely silent, and still. Then, she spoke again, almost in a whisper, "After watching her grow up, how strong she is….She's stronger than I was. I was unable to say no to my mother, and to everyone that pushed us together, but she can fight it. She doesn't have to go through what I've gone through."

"She can only run from it for so long, Gisele. Eventually, the time will come, and she may fight it at first, but the others--They won't let her go so easily. If something happens to you, knowing that she is alive, will give them hope, and just like you, she'll give in to them. You forget that you weren't as weak as you claim to have been, in the beginning. I for one know just how stubborn you were, and continue to be," he leaned forward, taking one of her hands into his own, "We may have been forced to become who we are, but we both know that the cowards," he laughed slightly, "have reason to be afraid of what the rebels could destroy…again."

The woman sighed, "I just want something better for her. I don't care if I have put everyone at risk. She's who I live for; who I fight for, not a bunch of people who don't want anything better than what they have, after hiding away for so long. Chloe loves it here, because it's the world she deserves to live in. We deserve to be just as happy as any other being."

"And I want her to be happy, I do," he assured her, "I don't want her to have to bare the weight that you bare, but what you've done--And if they find out about it along with the fact that you haven't even introduced Chloe to Philip…They'll have your head. How then, could you possibly help our daughter? Be sensible, Gisele. You cannot be the one to risk everything. Leave it to the ones who are willing to dedicate their life to the cause. I think that beyond everything, our daughter needs you, and right now, you're not thinking about that. Right now you're setting yourself up to be killed."

"You don't understand," she gently removed her hands from his, "I've been on the edge of death for a long time now, and the only bit of life I have left comes from Chloe. If knowing that she'll be happy means that I have to risk everything, then I will risk everything. I may not be outright helping June and the others anymore, but if I see there's even the slightest chance of them succeeding, I will give that extra bit of help to make it happen. If it is still a failure after that, I will deal with my people turning against me."

He stood slightly, and gave her a kiss on the head, "I wish I were as brave as you."

Leah took a few steps back, seeing that her mother was beginning to stand to leave. All of her life, she had always seen her mother as a selfish conniving woman, but from what she had just heard, she had been wrong. Every single move her mother had made, had nothing to do with the woman wanting to be free from her responsibilities, 'It was for me?' she quietly headed upstairs to her room, 'All so I wouldn't have to live like her?' of all the people in the world, she had never thought Isabel was the selfless type. Sure, she wasn't thinking of the masses of people that were counting on her, but she was thinking of her daughter, 'The one she lives for,' once she was in her room, Leah sat down on her bed. She looked over at her dresser, seeing the only picture in the house of her and her mother; the only picture of her mother in the house period. The way the woman had smiled in that picture had never stuck out so much as it did in that moment, and for the first time, she understood just how much her mother meant to her. All the times she had been upset with her had been a result of her thinking that, once again, her mother was only looking out for herself. Only doing what she saw was necessary to protect herself, but she couldn't help but wonder, after hearing what she had just heard. Isabel had let her stay in Sunnydale, when she could have, and should have, made her go back home with her, in order to prepare her for the duties that she would eventually have, but instead, she had let her stay. Leah had thought that the woman had done that as a way to get updates on the events occurring in Sunnydale, but maybe it hadn't been about that at all. Maybe the woman truly did leave her there because she felt that she, 'Deserved to be just as happy as any other being. She wants me to be happy, but…'

There was a problem with that, and Leah knew it. As much as she loved the idea of living like any other ordinary person, she wasn't ordinary, and her being there was putting more than herself at risk. It was putting more than just her mother and father at risk, it risked all of her people, including those who had rebelled, and were constantly trying to fight for a better life. The only reason the rebels weren't be sought out and killed was because Isabel had demanded that everyone focus on those who wanted to stay safe, and let the 'others' destroy themselves without interference. But, if they found out the true reason why Isabel wasn't going after them, they would do it themselves, and she would take care of the rebels. Or worse than that, their enemies would find out, and then go after all of them. Every moment that Isabel didn't stick with the traditions set before her, made her more subject to suspicion. They were watching her. They were always watching her, and eventually, they would see that she's sitting back and letting everything happen. She was letting Melanie and June, and anyone else who fought for the cause, go about their business, despite the past failed attempts that had resulted in disaster, and war.

There was only one thing to be done, 'The only way that we'll even have a chance,' she thought, as she stood up, going to pick up the picture, 'is if I make it seem like she's actually doing what she is supposed to be doing--Prepping me for the throne,' sighing, she set the picture back down, and went over to her bedroom window, having a direct view of the Summers house, 'It all depends on you, now. You and June,' she was going to stick by her people. All of her people, the exiled included, by all means, and just like her mother, she could only have hope.

****************************************

Lying on her bed, June frowned, still hearing a knock at the door, "Mom, aren't you going to get the door?" she yelled, but there was no response, which only made her frown more, because that meant that her mother had left without telling her, "I guess I'll get it, then," she mumbled, pushing her books aside, as she stood up. After walking out of her room, she could feel who was at the door, and it surprised her, really. Sure, they had come to her house before, but she hadn't expected it to happen again, especially so soon, "Hold on," she called, walking a little faster. She opened the door slowly, and leaned against it, "What are you doing here?" she sighed.

Dawn, breathing heavily, shook her head, "I don't know," she answered, honestly, "There, uh, something happened at school, so I left, and went home, but--" she wrapped her arms around herself, "Kennedy's there, and she's…"

June nodded, "Come on," she gestured for the girl to come in. Knowing that Kennedy was back was a relief, even if, from Dawn's lack of explaining what state she was in, she was a complete mess. After closing the door, she walked past Dawn, heading back upstairs, knowing the girl would follow, "So we're both skipping today, mind as well skip together," she joked.

"Yeah," she laughed slightly, following June into her room. It was only the second time she had been in the other girl's home, but just like the first time, she found herself wondering why she was there. For some strange reason, beyond the fact that she truly had nowhere else to go, she had found herself at June's door, and before she knew it, she had started to knock, hoping that anyone was home, "Sorry to just show up…again. There was just--"

"Nowhere else you could go?" June finished, making it a question, "Somehow, I doubt that. I would believe, though, that there was nowhere else you could go that wouldn't result in you getting some kind of lecture about skipping school," she went over to her dresser, picking up a water bottle, and took a sip of it, "You shouldn't do that, by the way," Dawn smiled at her words, which brought her a little bit of relief. At least she wasn't completely torn up about seeing Kennedy the way she was, or whatever it was that had happened at her school, "So, you gonna tell me what happened at school? The Kennedy thing, I can already guess, and I doubt you want to talk about that, so why not some good old teen drama," she walked over to her bed, scooping up some of her books, and putting them on the floor beside her bed, "I'm always up for a bit of gossip that has nothing to do with me," seeing that Dawn was still standing by her door, she pat her bed, "You can sit down, I'm not really into biting," after Dawn sat down, she went over to her desk, grabbed the chair in front of it, and pulled it closer to the other girl, before sitting down, "Go."

"It's about Leah. What a shock, I know," she rolled her eyes.

"Should I be getting popcorn, or tissues, or chocolate?" June smiled.

Dawn shrugged, "Maybe chocolate, if I start to do the whole crying thing," somehow, she felt herself start to relax. She didn't know if it was some kind of spell June had going, or what, but she didn't care, either. It might not have been home, but it was somewhere she didn't feel threatened, which was pretty ironic considering that everyone else she knew, minus Faith sometimes, suspected that June was the root of all their problems, "So today," she began, "I go to class, a class that Leah and I have together--Wait, no, let me back up a little. Ever since my birthday party, Leah had been acting all distant and weird, but I just thought that maybe--Okay, I don't know what I really thought--"

June laughed, "Oh this is going very well, I'm completely following you."

"Sarcasm unwanted," she gave the girl a look, which prompt June to stop smiling, "She's been acting weird, and I just thought that she wanted a little space. That maybe we were just going through the motions, 'cause all friends have those times when they're not as close, right? Buffy, Willow, and Xander have moments like that all the time. In fact, that's kind of going on now, if you really pay attention, 'cause Xander is hardly ever around anymore. I'm thinking it has something to do with his whole loving Willow, which is really weird, 'cause she used to like him, and he was all obsessed with my sister, which--"

"You're babbling," June blurted, "And, avoiding, so take a deep breath, and get back on track. You and Leah."

"Okay," she nodded, "So, I thought that maybe she was just wanting a little space, but today she was just--She was more distant, and apparently she's going out with Jimmy Swartz. What the hell is that? He's evil. He's the most evil thing on the planet, and she's all of a sudden his newest arm ornament? And, she's saying that I should get more friends, and not revolve everything I do around her, or whatever. That her and I maybe shouldn't be friends at all. It just doesn't make sense."

Hearing that, June looked down. Apparently, she wasn't the only one being a martyr in Sunnydale. Leah seemed to be riding the exact same train she was riding, "Well, maybe she's got some stuff going on at home, and she's just pushing you away.."

"Or maybe she's just being stupid," she said, bluntly, "That's what I'm thinking. I think that's she just being stupid. How is she just going to throw our entire friendship away? I mean, Jimmy Swartz? She knew exactly how I would feel about that, and still--We had something. Sure, we might not have ever made anything official, or really even had a conversation about it, but we weren't just friends. Now, all of a sudden, we can't even be that? Was I just reading into things, then?"

"I doubt it," June answered, "But, you've got to understand--"

"No, I don't," all possible joking, or laughing was gone. It might not have been who she had imagined she would be talking to, about what was going on with her and Leah, but she was going to speak just as if it would have been family. She was going to be honest and stick to the fact that she knew for sure that they had something, and nothing, absolutely nothing would make her feel any better about Leah suddenly betraying her, "If she really has things going on, she should just tell me. No, I wouldn't be happy about it, and I might still try to be there for her anyways, because she's obviously hurting, but to think--No, to know that she'd rather hurt me, than to be honest with me…It's so much worse. To purposely do something that she knew would rip me apart, even if it is just to push me away, is worse than her just saying that we can't be friends anymore, or that she has to many things going on to hang out anymore. Whatever she would have come up with would have been better than what she's been doing, and what she did today."

June swallowed hard, "I, uh," she laughed slightly, "You wouldn't believe how ironic this conversation is, because I've--"

"You've seen Faith today," Dawn looked the other girl in the eyes, and her assumption was confirmed. She had only been guessing when she had finished Junes sentence, but that sadness that filled her eyes told her that she had hit the mark, "What, did she tell you to get lost, too?" it would have been very Faith- like to run from something, and considering how June and Faith had acted at her birthday party, it was obvious that there was something there.

"No, actually, I was the one that was doing the pushing this time," she ran her fingers through her hair, and crossed her legs, "It's complicated," that was an understatement. Nothing going on in her life was simply complicated, and it never would be, if things didn't start to go the way she needed them to. She understood what Leah was doing, though she didn't know the younger girl's reasons. There were things going on in their lives that know one could possibly even begin to understand; things that drove them to do things they never wanted to do; things that they'd never dream of doing. And, just like Dawn had basically said, explaining their situation would only make everyone around them want to be there for them even more, which would only get in the way of things, "I had to do what I had to do."

"Even if it meant breaking Faith's heart?" Dawn frowned, "Did she come to you?" she asked, now curious to know exactly what happened. June just nodded in response, "Faith--Faith," she said, again, with emphasis, "came to you, and you pushed her away? You do get how hard it is for her to admit when she feels anything, right?" another nod from June, "Then, why? What's going on with you to where you would push her away, when you obviously care about her?"

"That's why I did it. I did it because I care, and you might not understand that, or even want to understand it, but it's true. It was for her own good. With everything that's going on, and is about to--It was for her own good."

"Who are you to say what's best for her?" she found herself yelling, "Who are you to say what she needs protection from? If you're trying to protect her heart from being brokenhearted, well that's too damn bad, 'cause you've already taken care of that, and after what happened with Buffy….What is wrong with you?"

June shook her head, "I--"

"I was there when Buffy yelled at her that night. When she slapped Faith, because she thought that she had taken some ring that Angel had given her. I heard what they said to each other. I saw how Faith looked when she ran out of Buffy's room. And you--you know how broken she was after that. You were the one that helped her get past it, and now you abandon her?"

"Dawn, just calm down," she stood up, her hands risen slightly, "Calm down. Come on, sit back down," for a moment, Dawn just stared at her, her breathing quick, and her eyes full of anger and confusion. Then, with a sigh, she sat back down, and so did June, "I don't know why Leah is doing what she's doing," she said, softly, "But, I know why I'm doing what I'm doing, and when I say I did it for her own good, I guarantee you that that is the absolute truth. If I could have avoided hurting her, I would have, but there was no way around it. I shouldn't have even let it go that far in the first place, but since I did, so I had to fix my mistake before I made things more complicated than they already are."

"But--But don't you love her?" her question led to June just staring at her, not blinking at all. Maybe not even breath. It was like time had froze, and she was herself was the only thing that had not been effected, "June?"

"It doesn't matter who I love," finally, she looked away, turning her head towards her window, "I love a lot of people," that had to be the most honest thing she had said since she had started her mission. There had been many times where she had gone through the cycle she was going through, but there had been no other moment like she was having--There had been no other time that the conversation she was having with Dawn had occurred. Something had changed, and it was having a ripple effect on everything that it touched. For once, she was not the source of the change, but she knew that she had to be part of it, "I love a lot of people," she said, again.

There was only one thing Dawn could think to say in response, "So do I."

****************************************

After school, to Buffy's annoyance, Giles had asked her to stop by the library to discuss her recent patrols, and her lack of reporting back to him to let him know how they had gone. Her reason behind that was pretty simple; it had all been very ordinary. A new vampire here, an old one there, dust, and more dust. Of course, he still insisted that she at least give a weekly report if not a daily, which had only made her grown in frustration. Being home right after school had been her goal of the day. If she were at home then she would get to be there when Kennedy and Faith arrived, or at least when Kennedy arrived, which would have led to her then going to see Faith, but no--No, her plans, as usual, were set aside. Instead, she had to sit and listen to Giles go on and on about the fact that he was obviously not being informed of all the things that were going on within the group of teenagers, in terms of all that was super natural. That instantly brought June to mind, which only put Buffy further into her own frustration. Okay, it was true, none of them had exactly rushed to tell Giles that June wasn't so ordinary, or about the coincidence of June and Leah knowing each other, or anything in between, but that didn't mean that they were intentionally being secretive. That didn't mean that she needed some huge lecture. Where was everyone else? Where was Willow, and Xander, and everyone else that had info? Why was she the only one getting a talk?

Eventually, the man had finished talking--Hours later. He dismissed her, and she found herself no longer so willing to go home. For some reason, she knew that she had been too late. She would arrive at home to find Kennedy moping about, or trying to act all strong and unaffected. There would be no chance of bumping into Faith, unless the other slayer had, for some reason, decided to stick around for a bit. Either way, her showing up late would get everyone's attention, when she was wanting to focus solely on the two sisters' arrival. She wanted to be there when all the questions were being asked--How are you? Are you okay? Are you sure you're okay?--Nope, instead, there would have been a 'Buffy, why are you home so late?' So, since her arrival was going to draw attention anyways, she decided to have it only draw the attention of one person, versus three or four. Instead of having to make light conversation with Kennedy and everyone else, before heading out again, she was going to simply go to where she had planned to go later that night--To see Faith.

She found herself standing outside the motel door sooner than she had thought she would, "I can do this," she thought, with a deep sigh, "Friends can stop by and say hi, and see if another friend is okay. Especially when this friend sucks and didn't check on the other friend before the friend left because something obviously happened, something of the bad which a friend should always try to get the other friend to talk about, or at least be there for the friend when they're obviously…" she groaned, "Stop it! I can do this. I mean, hello, I'm the slayer. I mean, she's a slayer too, so it's not like I'm going up against something all weak and puppy like--Not that I'd be up against a puppy….why am I still thinking about this? Just knock, Buffy. Just knock, and then never address yourself in the third person ever again," after a moment, she lifted her hand, and knocked on the door. Not too hard, but not too softly either. Then, she smiled, figuring that if she didn't, she'd look like the nervous wreck that she was. However, once Faith opened the door, and it was clear that the other slayer wasn't as 'okay' as she had sounded on the phone, Buffy's smile faded.

"Oh, hey, B," Faith said, lacking her usual confidence. She leaned on the door, "Wasn't expecting anyone to really drop by," she wanted to add that if anything, if someone were to show up, like Buffy had, that she had expected it would have been June coming to admit that she had lost her mind. Then again, she was probably just hoping for that, knowing full well it wouldn't happen, "Something going on?" she asked, "Some vamps we needin' to be taken care of, or--"

"No, there's no evil brewing. That I know of, anyways," the fact that Faith assumed that she wasn't just stopping by to actually stop by to check up on her, and be there for her, made Buffy feel even more guilty for not going to see Faith the day that she had Kennedy had left. Did it really seem like she only came around when evil was at foot? "I--I just came to see how you're doing."

"Right," she opened the door a bit, letting the blonde come in, despite the fact that she wasn't in the mood for company at all, but she also didn't like the thought of herself going back to sitting around pouting, and running Junes words on constant loop in her mind, "I'm five by five."

"Hmm," was Buffy's response to that saying. It was so obvious that Faith wasn't okay, but she wasn't going to necessarily call her out on it. That would probably only lead to her being told to leave. She watched Faith sit down on the motel bed, deciding that she would stand, unless Faith asked her to sit, or until she felt comfortable enough to figure that the other teen was comfortable with her being there, "I wasn't sure that you'd be here," she said, after a few moments of silence.

Faith shrugged, "Hadn't really planned on being here," she wasn't sure what she meant by that--Whether she literally meant it, or metaphorically, but figuring it out didn't seem like a fun time to her at the moment. Either way, she was where she was, with who she was, and that didn't look like it was about to change. There had been a time when she had wanted Buffy to be there, so it was funny that now she wanted June to be standing in front of her, instead of the one person she had thought she wanted most.

Noticing that Faith was off in her own thoughts, Buffy started to wonder if her showing up was maybe not such a good idea, 'Phones were invented for a reason, Buffy--Again with the third person narrative?' she sighed, and went over to sit next to her Faith, while rolling her eyes, and pushing herself to do what she needed to do, "Are you okay?" she asked, ignoring Faith's look of confusion, "I know that you probably really don't want for me to ask that, but I have to ask, 'cause when you called me before you sounded fine, very Faith-like minus a few jokes here and there, but I get here, and you're all--You don't seem like you're okay. I mean, you should be all--because your father died, and so yeah, of course you're not okay. I'm so stupid," she frowned, "Of course you're not okay."

"No, I'm okay with that," Faith shook her head, "Well, no, I'm not okay with the fact that both of my parents are dead, but I'm fine--I had lots of time to deal with that while Kennedy was…" she trailed off, "That's not why I'm…"

Somehow, she could see that. She could see that, though the fact that her father had died was obviously not completely behind her, it wasn't the reason she was no longer able to even pretend to be okay, "Then--" Buffy hesitated, "Then, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing against you, or anything, but I really don't want to talk about it," she tried her best to say it with enough sincerity that Buffy truly believed that it wasn't because it was her that was asking. It wouldn't have mattered who had asked her what was wrong, not that there were many other people who would ask, she would have given them all the same answer. She still wasn't even sure how to explain what was wrong with her, but all of that strength that she had gained, while she was at the mansion, had seemed to vanish. She felt lost, and unsure of everything around her. June was her ticket. She had been the reason why things were going to be okay--That knowing that came with just the thought of June had pushed her to make herself let all of her walls fall, and she wasn't only going to let them down in terms of her letting herself truly be with someone, but in terms of everyone, and everything. But, in that instant that June had pushed her away that strength had faded. Faith didn't feel strong at all. She felt weak. She felt like she had been tricked into believing in something that wasn't real, "I need you to do something for me," she finally said, quietly, her eyes looking towards the floor.

Buffy leaned over slightly, trying to see the expression on Faith's face, but what she saw didn't tell her much, "Anything," her voice was just as quiet, if not quieter. Part of her wanted to keep questioning Faith. To push her until she finally just told her what was going on, but she wasn't sure that was what Faith needed--She felt herself falling back into her past habits of not doing the right thing when it came to her fellow slayer.

"I need you to look after Kennedy for me," finally, she managed to meet the blonde's eyes, "I know that she lives with you, so you'll see her anyways, but I mean you've really got to watch her now. She's not doing so good, and I can't--I'm not…" she paused, unable to finish the sentence, "Just make sure she doesn't spend too much time by herself, even if she tells you to fuck off, or starts saying things about you that ain't so--It's not good for her to be alone these days."

"Okay," she nodded, "I'll keep an eye on her," they looked at each other in silence, which both of them understood, "But--" Buffy finally broke the silence, "I'm going to be there for you, too. Anytime, no matter what, Faith. This time, I'm going to get it right. I promise," she stood up to leave, despite her words, but she also knew that the other slayer understood that she would be coming by to check on her frequently. She was really going to be there, and if she wasn't there, all Faith had to do was call. However, Buffy knew that she probably needed to go home for a while, just to check in, at least.

Faith however, having felt that Buffy truly meant what she had said, wasn't ready for Buffy to leave. No, she wasn't planning on opening up to her; to tell her what was bothering her, but she wanted her to be there. Even if they were just sitting in silence, "Don't go," she swallowed hard, "I don't want you to go."

It was clear in that moment. She knew what was the right thing to do, without any question, "Then, I won't," she said, as she sat back down. After looking at each other, both of them turned their heads to face forward, as silence filled the room, once again.

**************************************

Kennedy could hear the movement downstairs, unsure of who all was in the house, but she couldn't bring herself to actually go and find out. She wanted to be able to greet them all; to surprise them with the fact that she was already back home, but there was no sense of excitement within her. If she went down those stairs, or if someone walked into Dawn's room, she knew that she wouldn't be able to put on a smile. The only expression she would carry was the one that was already on her face--That sad, and lost expression that she knew had completely taken over her entire her face, and had even seeped down into the rest of her slumped body, was something she was unable to shake off. It was like she was stuck sitting on the edge of the bed with her head hanging, and her body shaking every few seconds. The back of her hands were glued to her thighs, forcing her to stare down at her palms--She had been sitting like that for hours, and she knew it. Yet, she couldn't make herself move.

In fact, it felt like she wasn't even herself. It was like she was sitting within a shell. A shell that was practically lifeless, and was unable to feel anything other than a never ending sinking within itself. A quicksand within itself….or maybe something else entirely--She didn't know. All she knew was that she was stuck, and that she had stopped fighting. Somehow, she had just stopped, without even noticing, and it felt like it was too late to reach up, and pull herself out of it.

Willow walked into the room slowly, adjusting to its darkness. Dawn had called her and told her that Kennedy was already home, to her surprise, and that it was probably best if she spoke to Kennedy before anyone else. When Willow had started to question where Dawn was, due to the fact that she had not recognized the number, the girl had said exactly what needed to be said in order to make her curiosity disappear. Dawn had told her to go to the Summers house right away; that Kennedy was torn apart, and that she was scared that if Willow didn't go, Kennedy would be beyond anyone's help. From what she saw, Willow could see, as she walked into the room, Dawn may have been right. She closed the door, softly, making sure not to scare Kennedy, but even the sound of the door clicking shut, the silence of the room amplifying it, didn't get the other teen to move, at all.

'Okay, Will, no crying if she cries. We've gotta stay strong, and be all supportive, and--oh, are those bruises? Tears, I feel tears coming--No, I won't cry. There's no reason for me to cry. My father didn't just die,' she shook her thoughts away as she approached the still unmoving girl. She looked more like a little girl in that moment, than a teen on the verge of adulthood, which hit Willow in the heart as well, but she knew she needed to be strong. She needed to be there with Kennedy, for Kennedy, and not let herself breakdown at seeing her like that.

Kennedy sat within herself, beginning to feel that sense of pain and guilt, again, and wished to go back to the numbness she had found herself in--That was why she had given up; she remembered in that moment that she had stopped fighting, because when she had stopped, for a moment at least, she felt a numbness consume her, until she found herself unable to move entirely. She wanted to return to that state, but she knew she had no real control over herself, at that moment. Whatever happened, she was forced to go along with it, and whether she fought it or not made no real difference in the end. It was about to start all over again--The scenes would flash before her, and she'd be forced to watch it; to hear it; and to feel it over and over until it would consume her entirely. Would she be able to go back to her state of nothingness? She didn't know, but in that moment, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because as soon as she felt it about to take over, she felt that hand on her shoulder--That sigh of relief escaped her once, again, just as it always had when that warmth had saved her, and made everything else disappear. However, it didn't all disappear. There was a feeling of warmth, and a sense of relief, but it didn't all vanish like it had before. There was something different--

She turned, despite the fear of it leaving, desperate to see who it was, but who she saw was not who had expected. Well, she wasn't sure who she had expected, but she knew it wasn't who she was looking at, "Willow…" it came out as if it were a question, and in a way, it was, but her question of who it had been before vanished in that moment.

"Hi," she gave a weak smile, and opened her mouth to say more, but stopped when Kennedy suddenly turned and wrapped her arms around her neck, catching her completely off guard, and knocking the breath at her, with how much force was behind the sudden contact. Once she realized what had happened, fully, she wrapped her arms around Kennedy with just as much force, and then even tighter, when she felt a tear move from Kennedy's face onto her neck. They stayed that way for a while, simply holding one another, and then Willow moved for them to lay down, despite the fact that Kennedy was not letting go of her, to make the process easier. Just from the moment they had held each other's gaze, she had seen that Kennedy looked exhausted.; her eyes were bloodshot, and almost looked as if they were drained of life, and so she knew the girl needed sleep.

Kennedy was just holding on. She was holding on for dear life--literally. If she let go, she feared that Willow would vanish, and that she'd be lost again, though she didn't feel that she was completely herself. But, she wasn't falling anymore. She was truly feeling what was around her, and not just what her mind and body was forcing her to feel. Not just the pain, and the guilt. Something outside of herself was being felt, and the fact that it was Willow made it that much more important--It made her that much more desperate to keep holding on for as long as she possibly could. She felt the redhead begin to rub her back, and sighed, as her body began to relax. It had been so long since she had felt any sort of relief, but once it started to wash over her, she couldn't help but let it happen, and eventually, she fell asleep.

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Alrighty, that's all folks. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, and that the wait wasn't too much of a drag. Hopefully, I'll find time to update soon. Next time--After seeing just how broken everyone is, Dawn decides that it's up to her to fix everyone's problems….creating an even bigger one in the process. Thanks for reading, and please review. -*ThomThom*


	36. Intro To: Blacking Out the Friction

Hey guys!! So, I was hoping I'd have the whole chapter ready by now, but of course once I got everything ready to get started, school had to ruin everything. Ah school…why must you torture me so? Anyways, so, here's the intro…it's short…semi pathetic…and it's going to upsat some of you, but let me say--I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, and didn't really mind the wait. This is really, really, my final 'in-between'--The chapter as a whole is definitely a different sort of chapter, and the actual chapter is really nothing like it's intro. Like I said, it's going to explore what it would be like if everyone was…happy. I hope that all of you enjoy it when I get it all done. I promise that the actual chapter is comical, chaotic, while also being dark…you should have known it'd have to be a little dark. Thanks for reading, and please review this tiny intro…if you have time..-*ThomThom*

P.S. title is a song by--Death Cab For Cutie….little bit of a change from Radiohead.

Introduction To: Blacking Out the Friction

Dawn turned over onto her back, letting her eyes open slowly, so they could adjust to the light of the room. It wasn't terribly lit, not at the head of the bed anyways, but since the window in the room was open, it was still bright enough to where there was a slight pain in her eyes. She could see a tree outside the window; hear a bird singing within it--More of a peaceful waking, especially compared to having her mother yell for her to get up, so she wouldn't be late, or waking up in pain from having to sleep on the couch. However, the peacefulness that came with the warn sunlight, combined with the light breeze flowing into the room, and the notes of a bird's song, were not able to overshadow the problem that was placed in front of her--She was not at home. The covers that covered the lower half of her body were not her own, that window did not look out into her neighborhood.

The day before had had multiple turns of events. First starting with her exchange with Leah, to seeing Kennedy in her bedroom, and finally her arrival at Junes house. None had been planned, or expected, but they had happened, and though she had hoped to unravel her problems by then end of the day, she had only created a new one to wake up with the next morning. They had talked, and talked. Speaking of the way things were, and what they should have been, or wanted them to be. Hopes of a less complicated life--Something that for once would make sense, instead of a strand of things that never seemed to fit together. Of course, there were things that were left unsaid, as well. Things that Dawn knew were not going to come from the other teens lips, no matter how deep she herself was in the conversation. That was just a part of it all. There was always something that couldn't be said. Sometimes to spare feelings, but for the majority it was for a deeper means of protection. That, she supposed, and felt to be true, was Junes reason for not simply admitting why she had rejected Faith. There was something more complicated behind it that no one could know, but still, no matter how dangerous the situation, or how important, Dawn had found it hard to truly grasp how easily they all hurt one another. How they could so easily abandon everything that they wanted, 'What is it?' she wondered, 'What is it that she's hiding?'

"It's funny--" June said, as she walked into the room, "No one other than me has ever slept in this room. Minus the people who lived here before me. And, considering everything, I wouldn't have expected the first person to stay in my room to be you. No offense."

"None taken. Didn't exactly plan any sleepovers with you, either," she sat up, propping the pillow up behind her, "I haven't really stayed anywhere but at home since we moved to Sunnydale, so me waking up here, isn't exactly…But, I'm glad I came here," June didn't say anything, instead she just walked over to the window, the light making her skin glow. Once again, something wasn't being said, but Dawn knew that asking really wouldn't get her anywhere, "Sure, the conversation wasn't really on the light side of things, but at least I got some good food. You should be a chef."

"Yeah," she laughed, "I should be a chef--Hell, I should open my own restaurant. Become some sort of legend that brings something new to the world of food, 'cause of course it would become a world renowned kind of thing. Hey, you could totally be my assistant or something. My inspiration--I'd finally make a difference in the world," she rolled her eyes at her own sarcasm. Her become something other than what she was, doing something other than what she was doing. No, that wasn't possible. Sure, the world didn't get to witness what 'difference' she was making, but abandoning her job for an actual life--

"Why not?" Dawn questioned, "I mean, you're good at it, and I'm quite the inspirer. You'd have to wait until I'm old enough to move out, but still. You could have this whole new life if you wanted, and considering your recent actions, I'm thinking you're in desperate need for one of those. Leave all the complications behind. Do what makes you happy, instead of worrying about everyone else, because a lot of the time, I find, not many people are worried about you. Everybody's got something going on, here. Evils to fight, secrets to keep, relationships to screw up. So, why not go for something bigger if you can? Or even make the best with what you've got?"

June stuck her hand out the window, pointing a finger out at the tree, "Everything that we do has an effect. Every word we say; every look we give. It all goes from one thing to another; one person to another. Never stopping, even when the thing, or person, cease to exist," just as she expected, a dove landed outside of her index finger. It just looked at her, it's head twitching from side to side, but it's eyes locked with hers, as a soft coo escaped it, "Some people can," she finally said, speaking softly, feeling Dawn's eyes on her, "They can go out into the world, and leave everything behind. They can be free. But there are some of us," lifting her hand slightly, she prompt the bird to fly away, stretching her arm out further with each try, with their eyes still locked, "who are buried so deep that no matter how hard we try, or how much we want to--We just can't," her last word more aggressive, she pulled her hand back suddenly, obviously catching the bird off guard as it began to fall. She could hear Dawn gasp, and get up to come to the window, out of the corner of her eye, "Until we've got nothing else to lose."

Just as Dawn came up beside June, the dove flew up past the window, and then off into the blue sky above. She sighed in relief, "I'm guessing you're one of those people," that, she could see. But, what she couldn't see was what June really had left, "Still, I think that you should maybe think a little bit more about yourself, and worry less about everyone else," in her mind she added, 'Especially since you just push them away,' but saying it aloud was not an option.

"You would say that--Why should I be here worrying about all these people who don't give a damn about me? People who think I'm out to get them?" she paused, "Why do I sacrifice everything, when they give me nothing in return?"

"Because you're a martyr," Dawn answered.

The blonde nodded, "You would say that."

***************************************

Buffy stretched her legs, and took a deep breath, as she finally let herself come out of her sleep, which had been hard to get, considering how uncomfortable the bed was. She wondered, for a moment, why she smelled smoke, but then realized where it had to be coming from, "You should really stop," she said, turning onto her side, so she could see Faith, who was on the other side of the bed, sitting up against the headboard smoking.

Faith shrugged, "Maybe," she mumbled, staring forward, "How's your back? I know you're not used to the cheaper variety mattress. I sure as hell wasn't when I first started livin in these places."

"It's a little achy, actually, but I can deal. I've been to a few places, back in my run away days, so this is sort of a reminder--I like comfy beds," she tried to laugh, the smile already on her face, but for some reason, she was unable to make the sound come from within her. Instead, she could only look at her. She could only study that face that seemed to have no emotion; searching for what was beneath it all. Despite her staying over, the brunette had not opened up to her, at all, just as she said she wouldn't. They hadn't sat for hours, and then began to talk about all the things that had been going on since Faith and Kennedy had left, or anything that had happened since their return either, "I forgot to ask," her eyes drifted down, landing on one of Faith's hands. It was gripping the sheet, "how was your flight?" this time, she was able to laugh a little, but it still wasn't enough to remove the blank expression on her friend's face.

Thinking back to the flight, Faith pictured her sister sitting next to her, being quiet, which was no surprise at all. In that moment, she had not been worrying about her younger sister, but was instead thinking about her building nervousness, as her plan to go see June was really being set into motion. Before, it had just been a sort of notion. There had been thoughts of maybe going to see her, or maybe just waiting to see what happened after being back for a few days, but by the time she was on that plane, she had had it set in her mind. Nothing was going to stop her, not even her own fear of screwing things up, "The flight," her grip on the sheet grew tighter, "It was good," it had been good. It was what had happened later that fell on the other side of things.

"Good," she wondered if it were a lie, seeing that Faith's knuckles had turned white, 'Did something happen on the way back?' but as soon as the thought fully went through her mind, she knew that whatever was going on with Faith had nothing to do with the flight at all. Every part of her wished that she could find some way to get her to open up. To tell her what was wrong, so she could try to fix it, even if it was completely unfixable. She was just so far away-- "I had planned to go home and wait for you and--" if she said she had been waiting for Kennedy, really waiting for both of them to arrive, instead of Faith, it would have been a lie. It wasn't that she hadn't been looking forward to Kennedy coming back, too, but mostly she had wanted to see the girl next to her. To fix what she had done--Or better yet, what she hadn't done, "I was going to wait for you, so I could tell you how sorry I was--And, not because your father died, which I am sorry about--"

"It's not like you killed him," she mumbled.

Buffy ignored that, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you were still here. When you found out. Before you left. I should have been there for you, but I wasn't," she saw those lips part, letting her know that the brunette was about to respond to her words, but she didn't want to hear the response, "You don't have to say anything," the response, she knew, would have been something along the lines of, 'Don't worry about it,' or , 'Doesn't matter,' and those were words she didn't want to hear. They were lies, and she'd rather Faith say nothing, then to lie to her, "It was just something I wanted to tell you, so you'd know that I do care, and I felt bad for being such an idiot. Everyday that you were gone, I had wished I would have said bye. Told you everything was going to be okay. That's what I should have done…You would have done it for me."

Those last words were said so quietly that Faith had almost not heard them, but her slayer hearing had enabled her to hear it as a faint whisper, "It wouldn't have made a difference," the words, though she had not meant for them to, had a harshness to them. Carrying a connotation that she had not meant for them to carry, "I-I was already gone, then," the scene of her going to June's the day she left to go home played in her mind. She could hear herself yelling at June; could hear, 'All you can do is be strong.' in that moment that June had made it all okay, "There was nothing you could have done."

"Already gone?" she questioned, "Does that meant you're still…" how could she ask that question? It was obvious to her that Faith wasn't really in the room with her, but she needed to hear what the other slayer had to say. To hear something that gave her some kind of clue as to whether there was some kind of hope.

"It's different," her answer was honest, "When I found out that my dad had died, it felt like a reminder," she could see Buffy frown, could even feel it, without really looking at her, "It was a reminder that my life could never be simple. A reminder of the fact that I can't forget who I am, and where I came from. I can't shake this shit that follows me around, fucking up everything. Anytime I forget, it shows up. I think it can't get worse. It can. My watcher; my mother; my father; my--" sister was the word she was going to say next, but she stopped herself, making sure to not say something like that when there was a chance…Just that little chance. Was it because there was a chance that something bad had to happen to her? One door always opened, just as another one closed, "At least that's what I thought. I had made myself think that nothing could ever go right for me, but while I was gone I saw that maybe that wasn't true. Maybe I wasn't gonna always be at the shit end of the stick. That'd I have something good happen for me…Then, I came back here, and it was just taken from me," she sighed, "Or, more like, it left me. Now, I'm lost, again. I don't know what to do, or what to think."

Hesitantly, the blonde reached for Faith's hand, that was still gripping the sheet, but she found that when she reached it--Feeling that soft skin, heated by her grip--she had not reached it at all. Her gesture was one that was empty, or not full enough to reach Faith. To really touch her, and make her feel that someone was there, and that she was safe. How could Buffy truly protect her, if she didn't know what she was fighting against. She needed a book to tell her what to do, a watcher to give her instructions, but all she had was her hand reaching to push past something unknown, in order to find that bit of strength with her friend, "I wish," she began, clearing her throat, after it cracked, "I wish I could touch you there. Wherever it hurts," her body was tense. So tense that her aching muscles began to hurt even more, 'But you won't let me,' she thought, 'And why should you?'

Closing her eyes, letting her head tilt back, she took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "I wish you could, too," how much easier her life would have been, in that moment, if she had still only had Buffy in her eyes.

**************************************

Kennedy couldn't help but watch the redhead sleep; her nose occasionally twitching, and quiet sighs sometimes escaping her parted lips. It had been so long since she actually felt that she was at least somewhat alive, and not some empty shell wondering around, saying things that shouldn't be said, or things that weren't true at all. Of course Willow had been the one to bring her back, 'It's always her,' she reached towards her, pushing a strand of her off of her face, 'When she's sleeping…I can't tell the difference,' as usual, along with the thoughts of good, came a sort of lingering question, 'but what about when she opens her eyes? Who will I be looking at? Talking to?'

When she had woken up, hours before, haven gotten the most rest she had had in weeks, seeing the redhead next to her had thrown her off a bit. It made her question where she was--or better yet, when, seeing how chaotic, and jumbled things had become--however, as soon as her eyes looked to the four walls around her, she knew where she was, and sighed. No, she wasn't disappointed, not completely, but she wasn't exactly relieved, either. Things were so much harder were she was, for some reason. It was hard enough as it was, whether she was asleep or awake, something was always eating at her; tearing her apart with no mercy at all, but when she woke up where she was, wherever that was, it was so much harder. It was harder to breath; to move; to feel. Everything was harder.

Willow's eyes began to move behind her eyelids, first in twitching movements, and then more smoothly, "Hmm," she frowned, "I don't want to wake up," Kennedy's staring eyes were pulling her, trying to get her to open her own, but the urge to fight it just wouldn't die down. Opening her eyes had so many different possible outcomes. She could open them to see a smile on Kennedy's face; she could open them to see tears streaming down her face; or she could open them to see nothing but empty eyes staring at her. The chances were against here, there was only one possible good outcome.

"You can't sleep forever," she whispered, understanding her girlfriends fear of waking up in the world they were in--In more ways than one--Things were never simple where they were, no matter how much they all longed for it to all be so black and white, there was always something going on. Willow, still reluctant, opened her eyes slowly, and Kennedy gave a weak smile, "See, it's not so bad, is it?" it was more of a question to herself then to the redhead beside her. Things were okay in that moment, sure, they were, but for her things could change drastically. In the next moment she could be having a meltdown, beating herself up, sometimes literally, trying run from what was inside her--Whatever that was. She looked away, then, thinking about what she had done.

Noticing the change within Kennedy, Willow frowned, "Hey," she whispered, getting the other girl to look at her, "I--You're…" for some reason, her mind, though trying so hard to find something to say, kept coming up blank. She'd have the beginning of something, but was unable to keep the thought intact. Would her words be enough? There was something there, something that she was unable to grasp, but felt looming beneath the surface, "Sometimes," her voice was childlike, quiet, and questioning, "I feel that you think I want something from you--" she shook her head. That wasn't what she had meant to say--She didn't know what she meant to say, "Or like…like maybe you're wanting something from me," was that right? Was that what she had meant to say? "Something that I can't give you. But, I can't stop trying…"

The conversation surprised her. They had just woken up, or Willow had. It was like there was a whole new idea coming to life; one that involved a certain amount of honesty that wasn't required from either one of them before--Honesty…Something that Kennedy felt she would never completely be able to identify with ever again. How could she be honest? With what she had done, honesty would be the end of everything she knew. But, it was true. What Willow had said was true. There was something that Kennedy wanted from her. It wasn't that it was impossible, in fact, it was beyond possible, but it just wasn't the time. It couldn't happen in that moment, "I try not to want that from you but sometimes…" she looked deep into the redhead's emerald green eyes, searching for something; someone that she needed to see--But, she just wasn't there. Those words began to echo in her head, again, 'We're the same, Kennedy. We are all the same,' but it wasn't enough, "It's not fair to you that I can't--" her voice went out, died in a sort of crack, forcing her to clear her throat, "It's not fair, to you, that I can't stop wanting…"

"Fair?" her brows furrowed, "Kennedy, so much has happened to you--Fair…That word doesn't mean anything to me in terms of you and me, not right now, at least. Right now, you have every right to want something that…" she didn't know what Kennedy was wanting, that was something she never truly understood, but she knew why, and that's what mattered--Wasn't it? "something that helps you deal with all of this stuff that keeps piling on. It's okay that you don't feel we're enough to help you. We're still going to keep trying, and trust me when I say, I'm not worried about any sort of fairness."

If it had been a different moment maybe those words would have been enough, but she could see that Willow wasn't truly grasping what she was saying. The death, and the chaos, yeah, that had always been there, since they had met, but what she was searching for…that had come at a different time; replacing feelings for one person with feelings for another--At yet, the same person, at the same time, "No, it's not fair to you that I can't look at you without--" that calm and peace within her was fading; beginning to pull her back into that darkness the redhead had pulled her out of, 'That makes sense,' she thought, closing her eyes for a moment, only to see blood. With what she was saying; what she was doing, it made sense that her world would start to crumble, "I told you that I loved you…" tears were forming in the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. No, not when it was someone else that she was hurting. But, she felt she had to do it. For some reason, she had to be honest, despite the fact that her words were definitely deadly, "But when were trapped in the factory that day, and I told you--" maybe she was saying it because Willow showing up when she had, when she was almost gone, gave her hope that if she really did finally slip away, she'd find herself staring into the eyes she longed to see, "When I told you that I loved you…"

"Yeah?" there was a sense of dread within her, one that was telling her to run before her girlfriend finished the sentence. Yet, she found herself unable to move. It was as if something was holding her down, making her sit there when things were obviously about to go so horribly wrong, "Kennedy…" she began, but the words wouldn't come--They just wouldn't.

"…I didn't mean it…I don't love you," any chance of explaining was lost. Before she could even begin to speak again, Willow was up, and heading out of the room. Who was she to stop her, then? It was time to let go…And hopefully, go to a place she wished to call home.

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Alrighty folks that's the intro. See, not too bad...right? Yeah, I know, I know--The ending...but remember, next chapter will be a strange one (insert description of chapter, given at beginning of this intro), so no worries, it will not be depressing forever--Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.-*ThomThom*


	37. Author's Note After Intro

Dear readers…

Okay, well, after getting a certain review from someone, I felt that I needed to respond to what was said. The review asked when the story was going to end, said that all the drama is getting irritating, and that they're losing interest. I am going to do my best to respond to this as nicely, and logically as I possibly can. First, let me say for sure--It's a season re-write, so it's going to be a while before it's over…Second, though dramatic, each and every thing that happens goes beyond the surface drama. For example, the introduction I just posted--No scene isn't laced with other events, and deeper means in terms of the story as a whole, and all the things that are going on, without the other characters truly knowing. If some are unable to keep connecting the surface with the underling within this story, I apologize, but I suggest that you stop reading if you're starting to lose interest in it, or get irritated by it. I will admit that it's complicated, and sometimes it seems extremely dramatic, but it is not just some teen drama--I've said before that the story (at least for this season) would not revolve around Kennedy and Willow's relationship, and I really meant that (in the author's note from a previous time). My version of this season is about revealing the truth, revolving almost entirely around Kennedy and Faith--The question of who they are, and what that means. Soon, I will be making things clearer, and the relationship up and downs will start to calm, once the characters lives start to be more constant, which only makes sense, because if someone's life is too complicated, their relationships tend to be affected. Now, if anyone is losing interest, I am sorry to hear that, but I will not make my story less complicated because of it. Hopefully, if you're patient (which I think is necessary to read this story) you'll be able to get passed this part of the story. Every story has a middle beginning and end--The middle is when there's the most drama. The end is where the resolution begins. Guess where I am…Thanks for reading, and again, I'm sorry if some of you are starting to become irritated, and/or bored.


	38. EXPLANATION AN

Hey guys….I know it's been a while, and I'm really sorry about that, it's really frustrating me, too. Anyways, I've got some stuff going on right now, and so I won't be able to write for a little while longer. Some family emergency/emotional crap that I'm dealing with, and it's really making it impossible for me to write. Uh, hopefully, whenever I get back to writing, all of you will still be wanting to read. And, I hope to have a huge package to post, whenever I do get back. Thanks for reading. I hope the wait won't be too long, but I'm not sure yet. -*ThomThom*


	39. Blacking Out the Friction Pt 1

Man…it's been a long ass time, and this chapter (by the time I got back to writing) was one that I just wanted to get over with immediately. I made lots of changing to it at the last minute, but I hope that you guys still enjoy it. It may be a little off balance, due to the fact that I've been away from this story for a while, but it's just a bridge, so hopefully it's completely enjoyable. Ah yes, summer is upon, and I've had a burst of writing passion lately, so I should be getting back to updating on a regular bases like I used to, yay. So be looking for more updates soon. Sorry for the wait. Thanks for reading.-*ThomThom*

P.S. if you find yourself asking the question--'Have I missed something?'--No worries, you haven't missed anything, it's just the way that I wrote this is a little…backwards, so wait till the end, and you've got it. If not…uh…I'm open to questions.

Chapter Twenty: Blacking Out the Friction Pt. 1

Dawn sat up slowly, rubbing the side of her head, which consequently lead to her fingers getting caught in her tangled hair, to her frustration. She pulled her fingers a few times, but only ended up wincing in pain, as her scalp worked to hold her hair in place, and as her hair worked to hold her hand in place. Finally, after a quick pull, making her cry out slightly, her fingers were detangled from her hair, pulling a few strands away between them. Out of instinct, she lifted her hand again, wanting to rub where the pain was, but she stopped immediately, not wanting to go through that all over again. Instead, she stood up from her bed, and then stopped--Her bed, 'My bed,' she thought, with her brows furrowed. She looked around the room; her room, confused at how she had gotten there. Her eyes wandered down her own body, and she saw that she wasn't wearing her own clothes--small black shorts, a light blue shirt, which wasn't shocking, underneath a black sweatshirt, and some white socks that went just above her ankles--, but that she remembered. She remembered the fact that June's mother had mistaken her clothes for her daughters, and accidentally put them in the washer with their load of clothes; she remembered having to leave wearing June's clothes, because there was no time to sit around, seeing that she had suddenly remember her mother, and realized that the woman would probably be worried out of her mind. What she didn't remember was walking through the front door, walking up the stairs, and going to her room. No, she didn't remember that at all. Yet, there she was.

She turned around slightly, as if looking for something, and her eyes landed on a few bags in the corner. Kennedy's bags…she remembered that Kennedy was home, and she remembered seeing how much of a mess the older teen was. That brought her to sigh, sadly, just before she walked over to a drawer. As she walked, she realized just how hot, and heavy her body felt. As if someone were leaning on her back and front; their heat mixed with hers; their weight added to hers, but there was no one. Really, she wasn't even sure why she was moving at all, but her legs were moving, and so she was moving as well. First, to look at the bags in the corner, then over to her dresser. There were pictures spread across it; pictures from her birthday party, that she usually kept in a photo album in her closet. It seemed very unlikely that Kennedy would have taken them out, but before she could really think it all through, she was on the move again. This time, her body was guiding her out of the room. For some reason, she sighed again, as she went to descend the stairs; hearing the sound of voices as she continued walking, her hand grazing the wooden railing.

"I know that's so crazy, right?" she heard Buffy say, as she stepped down from the last step, and headed towards the kitchen, her hand grazing the dinning room table on the way, "It was like, crazy--Just crazy."

There was a group of people laughing, she knew that much--A teenage boy, her mother, and Kennedy…She hadn't expected to hear that laugh. Then, she heard the brunette's voice as well.

"I was just like, come on dude, are you seriously talking shit right now?" she said it with her 'in-your-face' attitude, prompting more laughter, "And he was all--Yeah, b--" a little bit of hesitation, "girl, I am talking…wait, did I already say sh--I meant crap," more laughter.

Finally, Dawn catches sight of them, and realizes that she had slowed her pace. It's not like the dinning room table is that far from the kitchen, and yet she had managed to hear all that before even catching a glance of everyone in the kitchen. As Kennedy finished her part of the story, she didn't seem to notice everyone's eyes turn to Dawn, but when she did, she turned to the youngest Summer's and frowned.

"You look a hot fuckin mess," she held her breath for a moment, seeming to sense Joyce's eyes on her back, and then sent an apologetic smile towards the woman.

Buffy, who had been leaning on the bar, next to where Kennedy sat on a stool, walked over to her sister, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and gently guiding her over to sit on the stool next to Kennedy, "How ya feelin?" her voice rose at the end, almost to the point of a squeak, "You slept forever. Was starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up," everyone in the room laughed.

Except for Dawn that is, "That's not funny," her voice was flat, and cold; somewhat deeper than it usually was. Actually, it kind of reminded her of the huskiness in Faith's voice, except hers wasn't sexual at all, "What if I didn't wake up, huh?" those weren't her words, but she could feel that she was tired at that point, and so she paid no attention to it at all.

"Come on kid," Kennedy slapped the girl on the back a little harder than she meant to, "We're just saying that you were out like a light. You didn't even move once when Xander came in there, saying something about getting you ice-cream. That made us worry a little bit," everyone laughed again.

"Sweetie," Joyce said, gently, "are you sure you're okay?" Dawn simply shrugged in response, so the woman spoke again, "Okay, then, well all you have fun, here. I'm going to go to the gallery and make sure everything's ready for tomorrow night," she went over and gave Buffy a quick hug, Dawn a kiss on the head, Kennedy a hug, and Xander a pat on the arm, "Not too much junk food, though."

Another sigh escaped Dawn, and she sighed, feeling frustrated for some reason. They all looked at her, making her shift in her seat, "Stop staring at me, weirdoes. You're freaking me out," in that moment, she wanted to stand up; to get up and get some water, to her own surprise, out of the fridge, but her body didn't budge. She didn't do much to fight it.

Xander clasped his hands together, as if he had discovered something, "So, I think I'm gonna just head on home now. Sure, my dad's drunk, and I think my mom is trying to burn down the kitchen on accident," he lifted his hands and used air quotes as he said 'accident', as well as lowering his voice slightly, and ducking his head, as if someone threw something at him, "but, I should at least be there, to pat out the fire. I'll see all of you tomorrow, at the gallery thing," he waved, and then left.

After a moment, Buffy looked over to Kennedy with a sly grin on her face, "We should invite Cordelia. Try to patch that up real nice."

"Hmm," Kennedy nodded, "I could maybe see that happening."

Baffled, Dawn huffed, "You're kidding me. She hates him," now her body rose to get that body of water, "She should hate him. In fact," she paused, "I kinda hate him," somehow, she felt that to be true, "He's a sleazebag."

"Gosh Dawn," the blonde plopped down on the stool the younger teen had been sitting on, "why do you always have to be so negative?"

"Because everyone else is always so damn positive," she threw back, before taking a swig out of the water bottle, "I mean, the guy's a moron," a smile grew on her face, "Have you ever asked him what two plus two is? He always thinks it's a trick question--What the hell is that?"

Kennedy waved the girl off, "I think we should do it, Buff. Get everyone together, patch things up. Why not, right? It's almost the end of our high school carriers," again with the air quotes, "we should all just put everything aside, and hang the fuck out while we still fucking can."

"Anybody wanna shout a good hurrah right now?" Dawn asked, sarcastically, raising a fist in the air. She lowered it, "Give me a break," she walked to stand in between the two of them, leaning over and placing her elbows on the island, "I've got two words for you naïve kids…Epic fail," she laughed, "I quite like that," not trying to be gentle at all, she gave the both of them a pat on the back, "You're both stupid," then she grabbed her water bottle, and headed towards the front door, "I'm gonna check the mail, now. Call me when you've left La La Land."

Kenned looked to Buffy, "She's kind of a downer since she got sick."

"Yeah," the slayer sighed, "She'll be okay though, I know she will," she flashed a smile, and Kennedy smiled in return, "Okay, now, back to our reuniting plan…"

**************************************

Faith pulled on her jean jacket and walked over to the mirror above her sink, letting a sly smile slide across her lips, "Fuckin' hot," she meant that entirely. It was a night to look good. She had to look good. It had been her idea to go out, after all. After a little bit of thinking, about two seconds to be exact, she had picked up the phone, dialed in the number, waited for the blonde to answer, and then asked her out. That's right, she had outright asked her out, "Of course she said yes," really, she hadn't really asked her out, saying that it would be a date, exactly, but she planned on making it a date, as the night went on. Unconsciously, she licked her lips before walking over to her dresser, where she picked up her lighter; putting it in one of her front pants pockets. It wasn't for during the date. Nope, she was not gonna smoke, because they always gave her a hard time about it, and for once, she was going to cooperate, instead of giving some smart-aleck remark, "One night won't kill me…I'll just sneak one in later." there was a knock at the door, and she couldn't help but beam, "Come on in, I'm ready for ya," she yelled.

June walked in slowly, taking in how clean the place was. Not that it was usually trashed or anything, but it was definitely cleaner than usual, "Hey," she closed the door behind her, and went to sit on Faith's bed, watching as Faith grabbed a few random things--including a wad of cash--stuffing whatever she could in her pockets, without it looking like a huge bulge, "So I was thinking--"

"Yeah? What about?" she asked, happily, actually wanting to listen.

"Uh," she scratched her head, "About yesterday, you know that I was just--"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Faith interrupted, "Shit happens, you know? Like, honestly, I get that you're trying to be all protective, or whatever. It's in your nature. Just like slaying is in mine. Can't fight it sometimes, and when you try…Well, it just doesn't turn out so well, usually. No harm in being a rebel sometimes, though," she grinned, "You should come to Joyce's gallery thing tomorrow."

The blonde frowned, "What?"

"Joyce works at that gallery in town," she went to look at herself in the mirror, again, glancing over at June while also examining her own face, "and they're having some big thing tomorrow night--You should come. Everybody's gonna be there."

"And, that sounds like a good idea how exactly?" she questioned, crossing her legs, as she eyed the brunette, curiously.

Faith turned around quickly, adjusting her jacket again, "Nah, everyone's over that not trusting bullshit. We just wanna have a good time, you know what I'm saying?"

If she didn't know any better, she'd be thinking that Faith was really inviting her to an orgy, "No," she shook her head, "No, I don't know what you're saying, because what you're saying doesn't make sense. You're telling me that I should go hang out in a building full of people who think I'm out to kill them and their pets," unsure of why she said that last part, she frowned, but then shook it off, "Faith, that just doesn't sound like a good idea."

The slayer went and kneeled down in front of June, putting her hands on the girl's knees, "Hey, I just want to spend some time with you is all. Hang out like we used to," she looked towards the door, and stood up quickly, "Oh, yeah, she's coming. I can feel her," she was a little antsy, but since June was in the room, she wanted to keep it under control; not look like a dork…like she thought she would. With one last movement of her arm, she adjusted her jacket, "Plus, Dawn will be there."

"So what?" she looked over to the door, not really knowing who Faith was expecting to step through it, since she had shut off her sensing capabilities before leaving the house.

Faith looked down at her, "You two have been hanging out, lately, right? Plus, I heard she's been acting weird, since she got sick. Maybe you should go by and see her for a bit, make sure she's alright."

"She was fine when she left--" she was interrupted by a knock at the door, which Faith practically ran to answer. Sure, she hadn't called before coming over, but she figured that after Faith had been so upset, when she told her that she wouldn't make things official with her, that the slayer would be down for a while, which meant she'd be locked up in the motel for a while. When the door opened, she couldn't help but feel a bit of anger and jealousy.

"Hey," Buffy said with a smile. She looked over to June, "Oh, am I early? I hope I didn't--"

"No," Faith blurted, "You're right on time," the fact that everything she said seemed to have some kind of sexual undertone bothered her in that moment, but she wasn't going to waste time trying to explain anything. She looked to June, "You good?" she asked, knowing that the girl was fully capable of teleporting home. She would have asked if June wanted to walk out with them, but that would have just been weird.

June nodded. Then, Buffy and Faith said bye, and walked out of the door. Something didn't feel right, in that moment. It's not that she wanted to find Faith all broken down, and miserable when she arrived, but seeing her all up and about, with a smile on her face--Something didn't feel right. She stood from her position on the bed, looking around as she did, thinking of whether she wanted to see if she sensed anything, but after a moment, she decided not to, 'Why should I expect her to sit around and cry over me?' She snapped her finger, and went home.

***************************************

Kennedy walked into Dawn's dark room, turning on the lights and instantly spotting the girl in bed once again, this time with her arms crossed over her eyes, "You're still wearing June's clothes," she pointed out, as she walked over to her bags in the corner, picking up one in particular, and taking it over to the dresser.

Dawn sat up, "What?" her voice cracked, so she cleared her throat, "What are you talking about?" she asked. The other brunette simply looked her up and down, so she looked down at herself, and sighed, "Oh. Yeah," was all she could say. Nothing really else popped into her head at that moment, she had simply not changed, not thinking twice about who's clothes she was wearing, but it was obvious to her that someone was thinking about it. Someone who was looking at her with a certain look that insinuated many things.

She pulled a few things out of her bag, looking for a specific shirt that she wanted, "Kinda weird, don't ya think?" there was all kinds of things she wanted to say; things that were more blunt and too the point, but she knew with the way that Dawn had been acting, the best way to say what she had to say was to step around it, while still saying it at the same time, "You've been in her clothes for how many days now?" she paused, "Ever since you've spent the night over there, and came home without giving any details as to why you're wearing her clothes instead of your own."

It was just as she had thought; just by that look in Kennedy's eyes, she knew that the older teen was accusing her of something that had to do with June. The question is, what exactly was she accusing her of, "Is there something you want to know? 'Cause I'd rather you ask me a few questions, then go around thinking you know something, when you really don't."

"I just think that it's a little strange that you've all of a sudden been spending so much time with June, and happen to come back in different clothes when you unexpectedly spent the night over there for the first time," having found the shirt she was looking for, she zipped her bag, and tossed it back over to where the other ones were. Then, she turned to face Dawn, leaning on the dresser, "Did you sleep with her?" blunt, and too the point; the route she had not planned to take, but Dawn had asked for it, "I mean, it wouldn't be so bad if you did, I just want to know," she smiled.

"What--" she huffed, "Is that what everyone thinks? That I slept with her? That we're involved in some kind of secret affair?"

"Well, it actually wouldn't be so secret, since--"

"No," she said, interjecting, angrily, "Is that seriously what everyone thinks? I can't just have a friend that I want to talk to when my life is hell, and everyone else is too preoccupied with their so called problems, to listen to mine? Just because I spend time with someone, doesn't mean that I'm with them, or that I like them. I cannot believe all of you have been assuming," she stopped for a moment, with a frown on her face, "Buffy," she called, then she looked back to Kennedy, "What about Buffy, is that what she thinks, too?" there was no sign of her sister yet, so she called for her again. Still, nothing.

Kennedy rolled her eyes, and smiled, "She's not here, she went out with Faith."

Dawn frowned, "Faith?" in this moment, she closed her eyes--

_She was standing outside. It was day time, sometime in the morning, she knew that just by how low the sun was in the sky. She was heading out to check the mail, walking down their walkway, when she spotted Buffy coming towards her, 'You just getting home?' she asked. _

_Buffy nodded, 'Yeah,' she looked away for a moment, towards the house, and then back at her little sister, 'I spent the night at Faith's.'_

_'How was she?' she wished she could have asked how Faith was dealing with June's rejection, but she was unsure of if Faith had told her all of that, but she knew the brunette had to be a mess. _

_The blonde shook her head, 'I feel useless,' she said, softly, 'Like no matter what I do, it's not enough--Like it makes no difference. She wouldn't even really talk to me, or look at me. She's so broken, and all I can do…there's nothing I can do."_

_'That's not true. I'm sure Faith was just grateful that you were there,' if there was one thing she did know about Faith it was that she cared for her sister; that they cared for each other, and no matter what got in the way--no matter what went wrong, that was still true, 'Just don't give up. She needs you more than anything right now."_

_For a moment, the blonde just looked at her sister, a questioning look in her eyes, and then she sighed, 'I don't know about that,' she looked towards the house again, 'I'm gonna go in, and shower.'_

_Dawn watched her sister walk off, and then headed towards the mailbox, but before she reached it--_

"Yeah, Faith," Kennedy smiled, "They went out patrolling."

Dawn looked down, a frown on her face, "Oh."

***************************************

Faith stuffed her hands in her pockets, and smiled as the cool breeze hit her face. It was the perfect night; the moon was high in the sky, it was the perfect temperature, and there was no sign of any baddies trying to ruin her plans. She looked over to Buffy, "It's really quiet tonight, huh?"

"Yep," she smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could still see Faith looking at her, this sort of grin on her face, which in turn made Buffy roll her eyes, "What is that look?"

"What look?" the grin was still there, actually growing a little broader, "I don't know what you're talking about," it was actually something she could not help. She couldn't help but smile, or grin every time she looked at the blonde. There were so many things she wanted to say in that moment, but all she could manage was a grin, or a smile.

Buffy laughed, "Of course not."

"Hmm," she looked away, looking up towards the moon, "I'm glad we did this--patrolling together, like we used to. I missed this. Especially when I was out at the mansion, wandering around at night just hoping to get in just one good kill. Nothing ever came, though."

"Doesn't look they are tonight, either," the fact that Faith was actually talking to her about any time at the mansion was…a relief. No, it was more than a relief. She couldn't even begin to explain how good it felt that the brunette was actually opening up to her, after having spent the night with the brunette without getting so much as a single detail, "I missed it too," she smiled.

"Of course you missed me," another grin, but of a different nature. Her more teasing nature, which was one that both of them knew so well, "How could you not miss, all of this," she gestured over her whole body in a single motion, "Irresistible. Impossible not to miss."

She pushed the brunette playfully, "Right…" things felt normal. Despite the obvious slight growth in maturity, it seemed like those days way back when. The days when they spent almost every waking moment with each other; or thinking about the other. This time, she was the one to look over and smile, and then even harder when Faith started to smile broadly as well, knowing that she was looking at her. There was a question in her mind, one that she wanted to be answered, but it required knowing something else first, "So June was at the motel when I got there."

Faith laughed at the blonde's attempt to get info, without actually asking an actual question, "Yep, she was there," if she didn't actual think that the blonde was seriously questioning her, she would tease her about possibly being jealous, but she wasn't going to do that--at least not at that moment, "It was no big deal; friends stop by sometimes."

"They do," she nodded, wondering if it were just that simple.

"And we are just friends," the brunette slayer added, making sure to point that out specifically. She looked around, still spotting no danger in sight, which was good, because she hadn't planned on spending the whole night patrolling, "So, I was thinking--"

Buffy gasped, "No way."

"Shut up," they both laughed, "Anyways," she said, glaring over at her friend, "I was thinking that maybe we could possible go have dinner," Buffy looked at her strangely, which sort of made her backtrack, "I mean, I like food, and you like food. We're already out. So, why not just have dinner…together," she hadn't meant to sound nervous, at all, but she knew that she did; that what she was asking was lying right beneath the surface, and was obviously pushing its way upwards.

"Together," she stopped walked, and so did Faith, and looked the slayer in the eyes, narrowing them as she searched them, "We didn't use to have dinner after patrolling."

"No, but there's always room for something new," that's what it would be; something new. It would be different from all their 'almost' moments way back when. They were different, and their relationship was different, and Faith wanted to take advantage of those things. She wanted to see what was there, because after Buffy had spent the night, something within her told her that it was where she wanted the blonde to always be--where she needed her to be, "There are so many things," she stepped closer to the blonde, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Faith," it was barely a whisper, "friends don't go on dates," that's what the brunette was asking, and she knew it. She could see it in her eyes; in her movements; could feel it in her words, "And you said that you just wanted to be friends. What you're asking me…friends don't do those types of things."

"Yeah," she swallowed hard, "But we can," again, a smile covered her face, "Why not?"

Buffy smiled, "Because I don't want to risk it. I like this, right here, right now. Any further, and the red flags start going up. You know that. And I know that."

Within herself, she could feel a battle. There was a part of her that wanted to go on fighting, and questioning until she got what she wanted; and there was a part of her that was confused as to why she wasn't doing the usual fighting, but there was only one thing that she could do, or say. She smiled at the blonde, and nodded, "Fine."

With the smile still on her face, Buffy nodded as well, "Okay."

**************************************

June got up from her bed, setting yet another book aside. Usually, if it were her mom knocking on her bedroom door, the woman would knock and just come in, so the fact that that didn't happen told her already that whoever was on the other side of her door was no her mother. But, who she found was someone she definitely hadn't expected, "Kennedy?" she frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to stop by," she smiled, "Talk to you about a few things, if you're not busy."

"Uh," her and Kennedy being in the same area usually lead to violence, so she couldn't help but hesitate before moving to the side, to invite the girl inside. Whatever the reason Kennedy had for visiting her, she figured it wasn't for a nice friendly chat, "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked.

Kennedy walked over to the window, looking out of it for a moment, before turning to look at June, who was practically standing with her back against the door, as if she were waiting for that moment where she'd tell her to leave, "Dawn, I want to talk about Dawn," that was somewhat true, but the visit wasn't only about Dawn, it was just going to start there, "And her spending the night over here," she said, still with that same smile.

June looked to the side, "Oh, well," she shrugged, and then crossed her arms before looking back at her guest, "She came over, and we talked. Talked longer than we thought, and it ended up being an overnight kind of thing. She was upset, so--"

"When isn't she?" she huffed. Seeing that Dawn had already said they had not slept together, Kennedy wasn't going to question June about that. There was no reason, from what June had just said, and what Dawn had said as well, to ask about their relationship. Whatever kind it was, or whatever it involved, it had not involved them sleeping together, "So," she said, after a moment, ignoring the look June was giving her, "did Faith come by here when we got back into town?" she asked. Faith, of course, was the second reason she came over. Really, she was the first, but that didn't matter, "Cause for some reason I just got this feeling that she was going to come see you first thing. Plus, Buff said something about Faith being upset a while back, which could link back to you."

For some reason, and to her surprise, she heard no anger in Kennedy's voice--No anger at all. It was like she was simply asking simple questions, with no sense of anger, or any kind of defensiveness. The words were loaded; completely loaded, but her tone, and her expression was lacking what the words obviously carried, as if she were oblivious to it, 'Maybe she is,' June thought as she walked away from the door, preparing to test the waters just a bit, "Yeah, actually, she did come here the day you guys got back," the fact that Kennedy had said a while back was fresh in her mind, so she stuck with it, "She came here, and we talked for a bit, and then she told me that she wanted to--be with me. That she wasn't going to run from whatever we have…things like that."

"Really?" her brows rose, "Faith, my sister, came to you and actually talked about her feelings?"

"Yeah, she did," at this moment, she ran her fingers along the end of her bed, the scene replaying in her mind, "She kissed me, here, after staring deep into my eyes. And then--then I told her that I couldn't do it. That I could be her friend, if that. I sat here, knowing full well why she had come here; knowing that she was coming to do something that she had never done before; to expose herself completely and take a risk on having something that could tear her to shreds one day. I knew, and I let her say it; I let her expose herself; I let her think that her and I were going to be together, just through a simple kiss. Then, I broke her heart. I told her there will be other people. But there would be no us."

Her expression was blank. Her eyes staring at the blonde, who was now staring directly at her, and within herself, she felt a shift. There was something there, something trying to grab hold of her, to shake her into the moment, but it couldn't do it.

June watched her closely; she could see the inner turmoil, like there were forcing fighting within the girl. All she could do was wait. Wait for some kind of reaction. Any other day, and she would have known what the reaction would have been. There would have been lots of yelling, and name calling, possibly even a few kicks and punches, but who she was looking at--There was something not right, and that was confirmed as soon as Kennedy opened her mouth and began to laugh. That was it, she had to do it, and there was that spark.

'Dawn.'

***************************************

Willow looked over towards her French doors in confusion, 'I don't remember Buffy saying that she was going to stop by tonight,' she thought to herself, as she made her way to the doors, "Who's there?" she asked, in a chipper voice, 'Has to be someone I know,' she thought.

"It's me, Kennedy," was what she heard from the other side.

She opened the doors, and smiled, "Hey, didn't know you were stopping by," Kennedy walked into the room, and she closed the doors behind her, before moving to stand in front of the new arrival, "What's up? Some kind of evil brewing?"

"Nope, no evil brewing," she laughed, "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to see a movie, or something. Some kind of hanging out…preferably in dark areas," there was that grin; the one that Buffy had question on Faith's face earlier that night. Funny how the two carried it so well.

Willow laughed, "Kenn, we can't go to the movies, or hang out in dark areas. We're broken up. "

"We are?" Kennedy laughed, crossing her arms, "Since when?"

"Uh, since you told me you didn't love me," the redhead explained, also crossing her arms, but still keeping her playful tone, "Usually, when stuff like that is said, it means you're not together anymore--or in our case that we're breaking up."

"Hmm," she thought for a moment, "Well, I could see how you would think that. It is the usual forms of ending a relationship in movies, or on TV, but we're not in a movie, or on TV, so…I mean, that's not what I want."

"Funny thing is," Willow laughed, "I don't think I love you, either."

After a moment of just standing there, the smile disappearing for a moment, Kennedy cleared her throat. The smile reappeared, and she laughed slightly, "Well, there ya go, we're on the same level, then."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, I know…it's a short comeback, but I know that I'm going to get the rest of the chapter up soon. No question about it. There is probably a few questions on your mind right now, as they should be, so no worries. Next time, things will be revealed, and you'll know what the hell is going on. Next time--June asks Leah to do something for her; Dawn is annoyed by everyone's lack of frustration; Willow gets a visit from a certain blue eyed witch; everyone comes to a conclusion about their relationships; and Dawn gets hurt. Okay, well, I'm gonna get that up soon. Thanks for reading!-*ThomThom*


	40. Yet Another AN

It's summer, and I said that I'd be able to update more once this point hit, but I'm not gonna be near a computer for a while, so the updates are going to slow down…even more. But, when I do get near a computer, I do plan to have a lot already have a lot hand written, so I'll be posting in large packs. Sorry about this. -*ThomThom*


	41. Blacking Out the Friction Pt 2 comp

Hmm, this is not going so well…having time to update. I'm so so sorry for the long wait, I've been super busy, so I'm never ever home. If it means anything, I have planned out the rest of the season--completely 100% planned out, in writing, which is always better. So, hopefully you guys will enjoy the rest of this. There's a lot left, but I'm hoping to just get them out one after another. Gotta admit it's hard getting back into this, so it'll be a bumpy start, but I'm hoping to get it done. Thanks for reading, and for being patient with me. Hopefully, I'll blow you guys out of the water, so you'll forgive me for my recent slacking/never being home. -*ThomThom*

Chapter Twenty-One: Blacking Out the Friction Pt. 2

_With her shoes in hand, Dawn walked up the stairs slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. It didn't seem like anyone was up, and she preferred that it stayed that way, seeing that she had been gone all night. Not that she wasn't in the mood for a big family reunion, she just didn't want it to be one that involved her getting a lecture about going places without permission, not calling, staying with 'strangers', and all of that. Plus, she wasn't wearing her own clothes, and she just knew that wouldn't go well, no matter how she tried to swing it. Then, the truth--well, that wasn't so much better considering that it all still involved June. There was just nothing, and she knew this for a fact, that would convince everyone else that June would in no way hurt her. It was something she knew that she'd just have to believe on her own. And she did._

_Finally, she made it to the top of the stairs, sighing in relief as she spotted her bedroom door, despite the fact that she figured a broken Kennedy would be on the other side. Another thing she didn't want to deal with, sure, but if she had any chance of getting away with not going home the night before, it came with entering that room. However, when Willow came out the room, moving quickly, and with tear stained eyes, she knew that a peaceful getaway was not in order. There was, as usual, some other kind of drama in the house. _

"_Dawn. Hey," she tried to wipe away her tears, looking away as she did, and sniffling as well, "Uh, I was just leaving," her breathing was quick; painful even. Of all the things she had ever expected Kennedy to say, it had not been that; it had not been a sudden declaration of not loving her, "I'll see you later, okay."_

_Willow tried to go around her, still hiding her face, but Dawn knew that there was something wrong. Even if she hadn't seen the tears before the redhead had had time to wipe them away, or the distraught look on her face, she could feel it. There was such a change in Willow when something was wrong, anyone could tell, "What's wrong?" she asked, gently, putting a hand on the older girls shoulder, "You're crying."_

_If she could, she would have run away in that moment; taken off and not looked back just so she didn't have to talk about it, or replay it in her head…more than she already was. But, there was something in the way that Dawn asked that made her feel like it was happening all over again--the sympathy was overwhelming. So powerful that she couldn't help but let her see, "Yeah," her eyes met Dawn's, "I--I'm just--she," how exactly could she say it? How could she say that out loud and not fall apart; completely crumble right then and there? "Kennedy was upset, so I stayed here, 'cause I didn't want her to be alone. I wanted her to know--"_

"_I saw her yesterday, so…" yesterday--such a chaotic day; one that she would definitely never forget. It was like everyone around her was suffering; they were all going through their own things, and she had just happened to catch a glimpse of it. From what she was seeing in front of her, that glimpse of Kennedy had been nothing, "It's good that you stayed with her," she hadn't been able to do it herself, and so it brought comfort to know that Kennedy had not spent the night alone, just crying, and staring off into nothing. But, there was obviously something she was missing._

_The redhead nodded, "Yeah," she looked away again, as Dawn's arm fell from her shoulder after a comforting squeeze, "I thought it would be good, 'cause she was so--And, I knew that she would be so…But now--" now--that very moment, "She told me," her voice cracked, "She doesn't love me."_

"_She did what?" her eyes grew wide, and her teeth were clinched, "You're kidding, right?" that was a stupid question, and she instantly hit herself mentally for asking it. No, of course she wasn't kidding, 'Why would she kid about that? Stupid question,' there was nothing she could think to say as Willow shook her head no, because nothing would be enough. There was only one person who could stop the tears, and fix it all--Dawn looked towards her bedroom door, and then looked back to Willow, "She didn't mean it," the older girl said nothing; wouldn't look at her; wouldn't show any indication of believing that Kennedy didn't mean it, "Willow--"_

"_I'll see you later, Dawnie," she moved past the younger girl, making sure not to let that hand reaching towards her touch her at all, because then she would be trapped. Everything would crumble, "I have to go."_

_She watched her go down the stairs, never looking back, at all, 'How could this happened?' she wondered, 'How could Kennedy do this?' breaking hearts seemed to be a thing with the people around her. Leah, June, and now Kennedy, 'What's wrong with everyone?' after hearing the front door close, she walked over to her door, taking a deep breath before walking in, instantly spotting Kennedy sitting up in her bed, "What did you do?"_

_Kennedy got up slowly, "Dawn, don't. You wouldn't understand."_

"_No, I wouldn't understand," she threw her shoes down, "Why would you tell Willow that you didn't love her?"_

_She knew it would come; that people would start asking her questions. If not Dawn first, than Buffy, "Because it's the truth," her voice was quiet; weak. Now, all she wanted to do was leave. Listening to everyone tell her she was crazy, or having to deal with looks that said the same didn't exactly sound ideal. As if she weren't dealing with her own problems, 'Problems. Yeah, being a murderer,' she went across the room, picking up her bag to put on more clothes; she was still in just a white muscle shirt, and black underwear, exposing her bruised thighs, "There's nothing I could say right now to make you understand, so just leave it."_

"_Just leave it?" she crossed her arms, wondering whether she should cross the line she was about to cross, 'I had warned her that I was going to find out--though without giving exact details as to how exactly I was going to, but I did warn her,' with the help of a deep breath, she found the courage, "Is this about the whole 'that Willow' and 'my Willow' thing?"_

_Instantly, she froze, the pants she was putting on only at her knees. Her breath was caught; her heart was pounding; her blood was boiling, "What did you just say?" eyes slowly drifting towards Dawn, Kennedy felt as if her whole body was heating up, as anger consumed her. There was only one way the young girl could have known anything like that, "You read it," it hadn't been a question, at all. And at this point, there was no way Dawn could deny it--Her journal; the one thing that had any evidence on all the craziness that was her life, had been read. _

_Almost as if she were ignoring the fact that Kennedy was angry at her, and the fact that she was obviously not aloud to read the journal after, Dawn went on, "Kennedy, there is no difference," this was going to be the base of her argument; what she felt could at least knock a little sense into her friend, if not in that moment, than later on when she had calmed down, "I don't know if maybe you're just afraid to love her, or--"_

"_I'm not afraid," she finished pulling up her pants, trying hard to not do anything stupid, as she came to terms with the fact that something so personal; so private, had been gone through while she was gone, "You had no right--"_

"_What is it, then?" she asked, but she didn't give Kennedy time to say anything in response--not that she thought she would really answer the question, "If you're not afraid, then--It just doesn't make sense, and it's not just because it's me, and because I couldn't possibly understand what you're feeling," the sarcasm within her voice could not be hidden. There was something about that--something about hearing that she wouldn't understand that was really starting to piss her off, "We're the same," in Kennedy's eyes, she could see that the words were hitting home; that they instantly sounded familiar, "We are all the same."_

_That was it; she couldn't hold it in anymore, "Shut up," she yelled, her eyes full of anger, "Shut up. Don't ever say that to me. Not ever."_

_Dawn shook her head, "Don't you get it? Don't you get that whatever difference that you think is between 'that Willow' and 'my Willow' is not real?"_

"_Get out," the girl started to say something; to possibly continue with her argument, or to say whatever it is she had left to say, but Kennedy didn't want to hear it. Some part of her couldn't hear it, "I said, get out," still the girl started to protest, "Get the fuck out," she could hear a voice telling her to stop yelling; that she'd regret everything later, because it wasn't Dawn fault that she had kept it all inside. It had been her that had not told anyone everything that had been going on with her; it had been her that didn't even really try to figure it out herself; it had been her that had only made things more complicated, and possibly pushed Willow away forever, but still…Still she could not push back that anger._

"_It's my room. You can't kick me out of my own room," could she? Would she? It seemed that she could in fact be kicked out her own room. In the blink of an eye, Kennedy had turned her around, and practically pushed her through the doorway, kicking her shoes out behind her, just before slamming the door shut and locking it. Dawn huffed, reaching down to grab her shoes, and put them on angrily, "Oh thanks for the shoes, I guess," she sighed, "Jerk," that had to be the first time she had ever called Kennedy that; had ever thought anything bad about the older girl at all, but in the moment, she couldn't help but be angry as well. Along with shocked, disappointed, and fed up. Not necessarily with Kennedy, but with everyone who seemed to pushing away the people they cared about most, 'They're all crazy. There are people out there who would kill to have just the chance…'_

_Once her shoes were on, Dawn went back down the stairs, suddenly feeling the need to get some air, 'Getting in trouble be damned, I cannot stay in this house right now,' as she opened the door, she let the cool air sweep past her, taking in a long deep breath as she did, and then she walked out, closing the door behind her. The neighborhood was quiet, as usual, but she couldn't help but thank the heavens for the peacefulness of it all, 'I just need a break from this craziness; just a little--' before she could finish that thought, she spotted Buffy walking down the street towards the house. She continued to walk, meeting her halfway to the mailbox, "You just getting home?"_

_Buffy nodded, "Yeah," she looked away for a moment, towards the house, and then back at her little sister, "I spent the night at Faith's."_

"_How was she?" she wished she could have asked how Faith was dealing with June's rejection, but she was unsure of if Faith had told her all of that--but she also knew the brunette had to be a mess. _

_The blonde shook her head, 'I feel useless,' she said, softly, "Like no matter what I do, it's not enough--Like it makes no difference. She wouldn't even really talk to me, or look at me. She's so broken, and all I can do…there's nothing I can do."_

"_That's not true. I'm sure Faith was just grateful that you were there," if there was one thing she did know about Faith, it was that she cared for her sister; that they cared for each other, and no matter what got in the way--no matter what went wrong, that was still true, "Just don't give up. She needs you more than anything right now."_

_For a moment, the blonde just looked at her sister, a questioning look in her eyes, and then she sighed, "I don't know about that," she looked towards the house again, "I'm gonna go in, and shower."_

_Dawn watched her sister walk off, and then continued towards the mailbox, wondering if things would ever get better. It was always one thing after another. Never could she remember a time where things were simple. Apparently those days came before her birth, 'All just started going to the gutter after that, I guess,' she thought, as she opened the mailbox. As per usual, there was a bit of junk mail and bills as well, but there was also an envelope with Faith's name on it. This one, however, didn't have a return address on it, "Hmm," she was tempted to open it, just to take a little peak, but decided against it. She would just take it to Faith, instead._

_The walk was one she knew well. She was the slayer's mail carrier, after all. It was an easy task; one a lot of the people she knew wouldn't agree with, it being dangerous and all, but she didn't care. Taking Faith's mail to the motel was a way to get out the house, and plus--she was wanting to see how Faith was doing with her own eyes, 'Another broken heart,' she thought as she began to climb the stairs, but before she could reach the top--_

"Dawn. Hey, Dawn, wake up."

She fought to keep her eyes clothes, grasping for the scene that laid before her, because she knew that there was more to it. That something else was coming that she needed to see, but it was all starting to fade away as she heard her name being called. A few moment later, and her eyes were opening to see Buffy standing beside her bed, "Buffy? What's going on? Why--"

"It's almost one in the afternoon, I think it's time to get up," when she had walked into her sister's room to wake her up, she had prepared herself for the yelling, and the possible kicking and screaming, because Dawn hated to be woken up before she herself was ready to get up, so when her little sister simply rose from the bed, she was surprised.

Dawn stretched, yawning loudly, "Crap, I didn't even notice that I had fallen asleep," she walked over to her dresser, still seeing the pictures from her birthday party. One in particular caught her eye, and she picked it up. It was a picture of Buffy and Faith; both of them with a smile on their face, with an arm draped over the other's shoulders, "You and Faith went patrolling last night, right?" she asked.

Buffy sat down on her sister's bed, "Yep," she nodded, while also looking at the part of the picture she could see from afar.

"So, you're--" her head felt slightly clouded from being woken up so suddenly, not that many people really felt right when they were about to be woken up by someone. It was just that she felt confused. Like she was unsure of what was real, and what wasn't, "You're still spending time with her. That's good that you're not feeling so…"

"Well, like you said, she needs me right now, so yeah I plan to spend as much time with her as I can," as usual, the advice Dawn had given had been spot on. Faith, she knew, spent day after day alone in that hotel room, and that wasn't good. It wouldn't be good for anyone, but especially for someone who had just lost someone close to them, and who had other things going on as well, on top of being a slayer, which by itself was a huge emotional pain, "I mean, I'm still not sure what to do exactly, but I'm still there. And, I think--" she laughed, "Well, no, I know that she wants me to be there."

"Hmm," she leaned on the dresser, setting the picture aside, "That sounds like it has a little story behind it. She tell you herself, or--?"

The blonde shrugged, "She might have kind of asked me out last night," her sister's brows rose, "We were patrolling, joking around," she would have added the fact that her and the other couldn't stop smiling at each other, but there was something about that moment, that made her just want to hold onto it. Like not talking about it would make it only theirs forever, "and then she suggested that we go grab a bite--"

"Well, you do like food," Dawn said, interrupting, basically just to tease her sister.

Buffy pretended to glare at her, "Yes, I do, and apparently everyone else has also taken note of this fact," she paused, "Anyways," her features softened, "She suggested that we have dinner…together."

Dawn nodded, "That's different than grabbing a bite."

"Are you going to let me finish, or…" she waited for a moment, seeing if Dawn possibly had one more thing to add, slightly to her amusement, and then went on, "So she suggested it, and I knew that it wouldn't be just some ordinary dinner, 'cause believe it or not--she sounded nervous," this she expected to hear something about; Faith sounding nervous…it wasn't really an everyday thing, at all, but Dawn said nothing. It seemed to be kind of purposeful, but Buffy wasn't going to bite the bait, she just continued on, "Then there's the fact that we never used to have dinner after patrolling, but Faith said there was always room for something new. That there were so many things…" the brunette slayer hadn't been able to finish that thought, so Buffy could only imagine what the rest of the sentence would have sounded like, 'so many things she wanted to say--what exactly, I guess--'

"So, how was it?" she asked, unable to hold on any longer, as Buffy started to wander off in her head, "Was it great? Was it romantic? Was…Faith…romantic?" it was odd to think of; Faith being all romantic, but for some reason, while picturing that grin--the one that wasn't so sexual, but still had the little undertone--she could see it. She could see Faith as the romantic type, if she wasn't looking to just get laid.

She could see the excitement in her sister's eyes; could sense the fact that she was waiting, on edge, to hear just how wonderful the dinner was; how romantic, and sweet--how was everything she could dream of and, more. There was only one problem, "I turned her down," the excitement fell from Dawn's face, almost in a comical way, "Friends don't go on dates, Dawn."

"Oh my god," she paused, "You totally said that to her, didn't you?" she threw her hands in the air, "I give up. All my hard work; all my advice giving…it doesn't make any difference. Why?"

"Why?" Buffy frowned, "Why what? Why didn't I go on a date with her? Or, why doesn't your advice make any difference?" she teased, but Dawn just shot her a look, "Dawn, Faith's the one that said she just wanted to be friends--"

"That's crap--"

"Yeah, sure, but she said it, and friends don't go on dates. Plus, we've done this before. In different ways, but still--It doesn't work. I don't want to risk things falling apart again, and so I'm not. No more red flags if I can avoid them, and in this case they're very avoidable," the logic, she was sure, was good. They had tried the whole let's be more than friends thing, multiple times, and each time--whether only one was going for it, or whether both of them were--it had gone terribly wrong, ranging from a slap across the face, to a leaving with someone else, "I can't risk it."

"Risk it?" Dawn walked over to her sister, giving her a sideways glance as she did, "Risk as in risk of it being the best thing that's ever happened to you? Risk as in the most romantic thing you've ever experienced? Risk as in actual lasting happiness?"

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at her sister's romantic ways. She actually wished that she could be that optimistic, but with everything she'd experienced in her life, Faith drama included, she just couldn't--She wanted to, but it just seemed to--

"Risky my ass."

"Dawn Summers," she gasped, laughing all the same, "Wow," the situation, she guessed, would have to be thought out a little more, seeing how she was the only one that didn't think it was worth the risk. It was obvious, when she had left to go patrolling, that Kennedy too was thinking that there needed to be a further exploration into the land of the possible coupledom of her and Faith. However, at the moment, she still was only thinking that there were inevitable red flags that were going to pop up, "Anyways," she stood up, "I was just coming in here to see if you wanted to go with me and Kennedy to get mom a gift for her big show tonight. You wanna come?"

"Sure," she sighed, "It's like talking to a bunch of brick walls," she mumbled.

Of course, with her slayer hearing, Buffy heard her sister clearly, "A bunch?" Dawn merely shrugged, but she knew there was something behind that. But, she wasn't going to press the issue. She smiled at her sister, "You seem better today."

Dawn frowned, "Better?"

"Yeah. It's good to see you all back to your advice all knowing kind of thing," without hesitation, she gave her sister a hug, squeezing her for a moment, and then letting go, "You might want to shower first."

"Hmm, I think that's a good idea," she went over to her closet, grabbing a few things so she could change in the bathroom, just in case Kennedy was in her room when she got out of the shower. After she had all she needed, and after sending a smile in her sister's direction, Dawn headed out of her room, ignoring the fact that she wasn't upset about someone other than her or Kennedy being left alone to snoop. As she walked out the doorway, she rolled her eyes, "Idiots."

****************************************

Leah walked down the sidewalk slowly, glancing over at the Summers house, as she moved to walk past it. She was going to quicken her pace once she was in front of it, hoping not to be seen, while also, in the back of her mind praying to be seen. It was hard. So hard knowing that she had hurt Dawn; that Dawn was hurting and she couldn't fix it; that she was the cause of it. She wanted to fix it. She wanted to walk through that door, up those stairs, and tell her that she didn't mean it. That she didn't want their friendship to end--that she wanted that and so much more, but she couldn't do it. For both of their sakes, she could not do that. So, she was going to quicken her pace, and she was going to pass that house without looking. Without taking the chance of messing it up even more. Or, at least that's what she thought was going to do before June suddenly appeared in front of her.

"What the--" she jumped back, "Oh my--Are you..?" thinking about where they were, she looked around, "Are you crazy? You can't just pop up in places, someone might see you, and I'm with you, so hello--Badness."

June simply crossed her arms, "You done?"

"I just can't believe you did that. It's so reckless, and stupid, and not even worth the risk. I mean, hello…even if a civilian didn't see you, our kind can't just go around doing whatever. We are trying not to be found, remember? Our kind--not so big on the being found out and killed. Most people aren't really keen to those type of things. But with you, obviously it's the opposite. I mean, everything that you do is crazy. You being here is crazy. You're crazy."

If she hadn't been going to Leah about something serious, she would have laughed at the girl's paranoia, or possibly done something else to make her freak out even more, but she wasn't there to play around, "Calm down. We're fine. Nobody saw me, and there's no one here that wants to kill me…minus a few people in that house most likely," she looked over at the Summers house for a moment, and then back to Leah, "Uh, anyways, I was just wondering if you've possibly noticed anything weird lately."

"Yeah," Leah nodded, her swooping bangs bouncing, "My whole entire life and existence."

"Someone's being a drama queen today," June said, frustrated. It was just a simple question. One that didn't require any overdramatic antics, or responses, "No, not you. Though, just to let you know--Yeah. I'm talking about with the residence of the Summers house, or uh, Faith."

"Why would I see Faith?" she questioned.

"Totally missing the point here, Leah. God, you're just like your mother; only hearing what you want to hear, responding to what you want to respond to, and making everything about you. It must run in your blood, 'cause it sure as hell ain't a thing with our kind. Hence my whole life devotion to saving--" she felt them before they opened the front door, and by the look on Leah's face, so had she. This, she had not wanted to happen, and had not expected, despite their location outside the Summers house, and yet there she was. And, with a smile on her face to boot, "Kennedy."

Kennedy put her hands in her pockets, walking up to the two of them, as she looked around, "You teleporting in public now? Little dangerous, isn't it?"

Leah rolled her eyes, "See, someone saw you."

"Shut it," June said, sending Leah a look. She didn't say it so aggressively, but she knew that her message had been sent loud and clear. If the girl hadn't noticed anything before, she sure as hell was about to.

"So what are you guys doing? Just hanging out? Taking a little stroll? It's nice today," she stopped beside them, looking between the two of them, "Family gathering, maybe? Or is it that your families are friends? Was never too clear on that one," she smiled broadly, "You know, I was just looking at some pictures Dawn has out right now. They're from her birthday, and I was looking at the ones with you guys in them, and it just reminded me of all the birthday drama," this time a laugh, "God that night was crazy. So much weird stuff happened, right?"

Uncomfortable, Leah shifted slightly, moving an inch or two away from Kennedy. There was something about the way she was looking at them, and the way she was speaking, and what she was saying, "Depends on the kind I guess."

"Hmm," she took a moment, glancing at June, who was imply standing there, and then slowly turned back to Leah, "Well, I'm more used to the normal kind. You know, with the family, and the presents, and the ice-cream and cake. Not really used to the mysterious black box, unexpected guests, and threatening kind. Not really my type of party."

Now, June did speak, "You sure? 'Cause you seem to be enjoying yourself right now."

"I could be enjoying myself more," again, she laughed, "But you know, that's okay. Got a lot of stuff I've gotta do today. Family outing type of thing, really. Getting Joyce a gift for her opening tonight," a pause, "Different type of party, but I'm thinking--I'm thinking it's going to be the kind that I like. My type of party, you know?"

Ever part of her was so tempted to just knock Kennedy out in that moment; to just punch her square in the face, and tell her to say whatever she had to say, but the thing was, Kennedy was saying what she had to say. If June hadn't known what was really going on, there would have been an issue. Of course, she wouldn't have seriously hurt her--it was her job to protect Kennedy, after all--but she was up for causing a nosebleed. But, she resisted, "Yeah, I get it."

"We get it," Leah added.

Kennedy nodded, "Well, I've gotta go, now. It was interesting bumping into you guys," she gave a small wave, still with a smile on her face, and then walked away, heading back into the house.

Once Kenned was in, completely, and undoubtedly, June turned to Leah, "As I was saying before--Have you possibly noticed something weird lately?"

Leah pointed towards the Summers house, "What the hell was that? Are you totally up to something, right now? I don't want any part of it, 'cause she is acting psycho, and I know what she's capable of. So do you--Maybe you should calm it down a notch or two with your mission, 'cause I think whatever you did is going wrong at this point."

"I didn't do that," June said, defensively, "Please, I'm not an amateur, and that was obviously an amateur spell gone wrong," Leah shrugged, "Don't shrug, that means that I obviously didn't--Why am I even defending myself to you. We both know that there's no way in hell I'd be so careless. Plus, I'd be a very unhappy camper if--I'd be more unhappy if I would have done it."

"Upset," she corrected.

"Whatever. Shut up, and listen to me before Kennedy comes out here, with more threats and smiles," she grabbed Leah's arm, pulling her across the street, more towards the girl's house, "Okay, so Dawn must have done something, and I need you to kind of play along to help me fix this."

"Whoa," she pulled her arm away, "No. I can't. Nope. Uh uh, no way. There's no way I'm going near anyone in that house, so look…I won't have to play along," she smiled, hoping that June would leave it at that, but she kind of knew she wouldn't.

"Unless you want this to all blow up on all of us, you're going to help me fix this," June glared. There was no time for immature, stupid behavior, and that's exactly what she felt she was getting from Leah. The whole conversation had been ridiculous, "We're going to do this, and we're going to do it soon."

Leah looked down, "You don't understand. I can't do it. I can't see her right now, and I have a feeling that me helping you requires that I see her. And, I'm right, aren't I?" June just nodded in response, and she thought that maybe she could leave it at that point, but when she tried to walk away, once again, her arm was grabbed, but gentler.

"Leah, I get what you're saying. Trust me I do," the younger girl wasn't the only one who was going to have to face someone that they had hurt; really face them, "What you did to Dawn, you did it to protect her, so I understand. You know I live to be a martyr. Pretty much literally," she joked, though it was not so funny, "But I'm telling you, if you don't help me fix this, things are going to get really bad. You know what this spell can lead to, and if Dawn's really the one that cast it, she needs us to do this. Otherwise…"

"Right," she looked towards the Summers house again, gulping as she did, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good. You're doing the right thing," they started to head inside Leah's house, knowing they'd need to plan it out a little bit more, "We're just doing the basic breaking; nothing extravagant, even though it will seem a little dramatic. It's what's necessary at the minimum. Just try to do it as fast as possible."

The younger girl rolled her eyes, "Easier said than done. For me at least."

**************************************

Buffy watched Dawn head off to the restroom of the store they were in, "I just don't get it," she said, glancing over at Kennedy, who was looking at a few random items on a shelf, "Earlier, when I talked to her, she was fine. She was how she used to be--Funny, sarcastic, overwhelmingly into the romantic, and somehow all knowing. It's like, as soon as we walked out that door, she just turned back into that bitter monster that can't seem to do anything but brood. Maybe we should take her to see someone."

Kennedy shrugged, "I don't know. I'm thinking that she's just goin through a bit of a rough patch. No biggie really," she laughed, "Typical teen drama probably."

Buffy could see that. She herself was a teenager, and knew the ways of teen drama all too well, amongst other kinds of drama like--end of the world drama, vampire boyfriend drama, liking the friend drama--she was all too familiar, "Still, it just doesn't seem normal. Not for her anyways."

"Who's to say what's normal," Kennedy glanced over at her friend, wondering if she should mention her visit with June, and the information she had gathered from that visit. There was the question of where exactly the blonde stood with her sister; where they really on good terms…were they on _really _terms? She had to admit to herself that she liked the idea--That she felt Buffy and Faith should give whatever they had a chance, but then again, that would make her somewhat of a hypocrite. After a moment, she decided that didn't matter, "So, I went to see June."

"Really? Hmm," she would have asked why, but she figured it either had something to do with Dawn, who she knew had been spending a little too much time with the oh so mysterious blonde, or Faith who had an odd off and on again thing with the oh so mysterious blonde, "How'd that go?"

"Good actually," the brunette answered, with a smile, "I just wanted to ask her a few things about Dawn, since she's been over there a couple times. Then, uh, we had an interesting little conversation about Faith," this was it--if she was going to set any plan into motion, it was going to be with her next set of words. Even if the fact that Faith went so far as to admit her true feelings, the fact was that June had rejected her, and now Faith was available. That's all she thought mattered, anyways, "Apparently, as soon as we got back into town, Faith went over to June's--"

"Figures," seeing how things had been left before Faith and Kennedy left, Buffy had not expected the brunette slayer to come back all excited to see her.

"Yeah," she paused, "Anyways, so she went, and she told June that she wanted them to be together," the blondes eyes went wide, and Kennedy laughed, "I know, crazy right? Faith actually admitting, and talking about her feeling…big. But, June turned her down," she said it as if it were something so simple; something insignificant, "So, they're done."

"They're done?" Buffy laughed, "Is that even possible? Those two, they've just got this thing…"

Dawn walked back up to the two older teens, "What'd I miss? Did Buffy try to pick out something horrible again?" she asked, looking between the two of them. Both of them just smiled an rolled their eyes, turning to head out of the store.

"Uh, no," Kennedy answered, "We were just talking about Faith and June, and Faith's whole confession…and June rejecting her. I wonder how Faith handled that--she's never been rejected before…or at least I don't think she has."

Buffy knew how Faith had dealt with it. It all made sense; why Faith had been so broken down when she had gone to see her the night the two sisters had come back to Sunnydale; why the brunette had not wanted to talk about what was bothering her; why Faith had said that June and her were just friends. Was it possible that it actually was over and done between Faith and June? Of course, she hoped it was true. Whether her and Faith had a thing or not, she didn't exactly like the effect that June had on her friend--her friend who she occasionally liked as more than a friend. Occasionally being pretty much all the time.

"Knowing Faith," Kennedy continued, "She brushed it off, went out, and got laid. Best cure for a broken hear--according to her. Not that she's ever really…" that's where she stopped. Faith had had her heart broken before. By Buffy to be exact, and Faith had actually gone out and slept with some…Kennedy's at the time girlfriend, who she had been cheating on, but still, "I just couldn't believe it."

Dawn huffed, crossing her arms, "What I can't believe is the fact that June rejected her when she obviously cares about Faith…probably way more than you guys realize," Buffy and Kennedy both laughed, which of course annoyed her completely, "You guys are so stupid. Don't you get that all of you are making one mistake after another."

"We're just dealing with things as they come, Dawnie," Kennedy smiled.

Buffy nodded, "She's right, Dawn. We're only human."

"You're also only stupid too, I guess. I mean, you," she looked to Buffy, "how does this not make you worry about Faith. What? Just because she asked you out last night, you think she's all fine and dandy? I mean, sure, she still has a thing for you, but we all know that what her and June had was a little bit different--by a little, I mean a lot. And, you," next, she looked at Kennedy, who just smiled and rolled her eyes, "Hello! She's your sister. How did you not kill June for basically leading Faith on? Or for being so stupid as to reject someone she obviously likes. What happened to the whole, protect Faith thing. I mean, you can attack June any other time."

"There's no time for stuff like that, kid," she looked up, seeing a great blue sky above, "Life is too crazy to sit around doing crazy things all the time--it only makes things more…crazy."

"You obviously weren't thinking about that when you basically pulled the same move as June with Willow. You know, except what you did was way worse."

"What'd you do?" Buffy questioned, "June's a heartbreaker, no big deal, it figures. But you, you better not be trampling on my best friend's heart, and if you have…you better fix it pronto. By the time we get to that gallery tonight, the two of you better be making sickeningly romantic eyes at each other."

Both Kennedy and Buffy laughed again, and Dawn thought her head was going to explode, "For Christ sakes…why am I surrounded by idiots?" she started to walk faster, no longer wanting to walk beside the two other girls.

Kennedy eyed the younger girl carefully, "Maybe she should see someone."

Buffy nodded, and then frowned, "Hey, Dawn totally knew about the June Faith thing."

"Of course she did--All knowing remember? Even when she's being a grump," she smiled, "Wait, Faith asked you out last night?"

***************************************

June knocked on the door softly, keeping herself as calm and level headed as possible. She was about to overstep a boundary; put herself in a position she was supposed to avoid, and though she knew she shouldn't have been knocking on that door, she also felt that it was necessary. That being said, she needed to be focused. She looked around for a moment, spotting a few pictures on the hallway walls, and then turned back when the door opened.

"June?" Willow smiled, "What are you doing here?"

There was that smile she had seen so many times--Faith, Kennedy, Willow--they all had that same smile, "Just wanted to have a little chat, if that's okay," the girl simply moved to the side, giving her permission to walk it. She had never seen the redhead's room--or at least this version of it, but there was no time to look around; there was no time to compare and contrast, or to visualize how exactly things were going to change. She'd have to do that another time, when Willow wasn't around. She turned to the girl, putting on a smile as well, "Sorry to just stop by like this. You weren't busy were you?"

"Nope. I was just wondering what I was going to wear to Joyce's gallery later," she laughed, "Don't think any of my clothes fit the style of a big gallery opening."

"I'm sure Joyce won't care what you wear," things, so far, seemed calm. As she had suspected, the girl was in the same state of mind as everyone else, now, all she needed to do was test the waters a little bit, "You mind if I sit down? I actually walked all the way over here," that was a lie--she had practically teleported to the girls bedroom door, but she was trying to keep things neutral, so she wouldn't say that.

"No, go ahead," Willow herself, decided to simply stand.

June sat down, taking note of the fact that Willow wasn't going to sit down. To her, that was a sign of the magic within the redhead, 'It's resisting the spell,' she crossed her legs, "Do you ever feel like there's something else living inside of you?"

Willow laughed, "What do you mean?"

June laughed, as well, "Like…every once in a while something inside of you is just as alive as you are--that something roams within you, and sometimes even consumes you?" the girl just looked at her strangely, like she couldn't possibly understand what she was saying, but June knew that deep down Willow knew exactly what she was saying, "Do you have odd dreams at night that feel extremely real? Almost like you've been there…like you've lived it?"

"Doesn't everyone have dreams like that?" Willow asked, smiling once again, "I'm pretty sure we do."

"Yeah, but there's a difference," she shrugged, "I think that you know what I'm talking about, don't you Willow?" there was a conflict in those green eyes, one that couldn't be mistaken as anything else. Though, who she knew that on the outside she was basically talking to a shell, she knew that somewhere within the girl there was the woman she knew--The woman who would some day come to her for help, "When we first met, I was so overwhelmed," she laughed, "I mean, just by your presence. You were so strong; so powerful; so good. Even though everything around you was crumbling."

"Crumbling?" Willow questioned, "You mean the stuff with Oz and Kennedy? 'Cause yeah, crazy times, but I wouldn't say that my world was crumbling."

"No, I'm not talking about Oz and Kennedy," she shook her head, and then made direct eye contact with her, "My name is June Deanna Rico-Finmere, I am a witch, beyond other things, and I come from a long line of my kind that has lived in hiding for hundreds of thousands of years. I am labeled a rebel. Someone that doesn't want to hide, and changes things through time, so my kind can stop living in hiding, and get the recognition they truly deserve. This course of action just so happens to keep the world from falling apart if I complete my mission. You may not understand this, but Kennedy is a large part of this mission. She is the link to my freedom, and to making the world into what it should have been long ago. The only problem is…death follows Kennedy wherever she goes."

"I don't understand," she said, honestly. She didn't understand; not a single word that was coming out of the blonde's mouth was making sense to her, and yet she felt so drown in. It was pretty much like the first time June had something mysterious to her; the time they were in the library, and June had said that she should basically explore what was inside her more. But, what she was saying at the moment, she did not get at all.

"That's okay, you don't have to understand," she laughed, "In a few weeks you won't even care that I've said any of this, but I'm telling you right now that everything you feel for Kennedy--"

"I don't love Kennedy," she said, abruptly, not expecting it herself.

June looked down, "Just because you don't know where it comes form, doesn't mean it's not real," she stood up, "Not everything can just be your imagination," that wasn't entirely true; there was no way that things could ever get that bad, and if they did, her mission would have to go completely one hundred percent wrong, "I told you all of this for a reason, and you don't have to care about it now, but later--if things go wrong--Just be careful, or you'll lose her forever."

Willow nodded, "Okay."

"It was nice talking to you," too bad that soon there would be no more talking; not like that anyways. Things were going to start getting bumpier and bumpier. By the end of it, no one will want to talk to her, at all. That's just how it had to be. For a while anyways.

"You too," was it? She couldn't really answer that question, but she also felt that it didn't really matter, "Are you coming to the gallery opening later?"

June smiled, "I wouldn't miss it."

**************************************

"_What? That's not fair!" Dawn yelled, standing up, and consequently knocking over the stool she had been sitting on, "I was just at June's house, nothing happened. I'm sorry I didn't call, or anything, but I was having a bad day, and I just needed to be somewhere else," she looked to Buffy, who was sitting on a different stool at the island, "Buffy, you understand, don't you?"_

_Buffy looked at her mom, "You're right, we both should have called."_

"_I understand that you both have your own lives, but you're still my children, and when you don't let me know where you are, I worry. So, you're grounded, and that's final."_

_She couldn't believe what she was hearing--The one time that she didn't check in, compared to all the millions of times Buffy had done it, and she's grounded for months. It just didn't seem right, 'There's too much going on for me to be stuck in this house for months,' she looked over at Buffy, 'And Buffy's just willing to completely let Faith deal with things on her own, obviously--she can only train and patrol, and then come home. Well, what about Faith. She's not even trying to make a deal with Mom. Then, Kennedy's going around telling people she doesn't love them. Everyone's going crazy. Why can't they all just realize that everything they want is right in front of them, all they have to do is fight for it? And Mom, who knows what' s going on with her, she's been acting weird ever since that band candy made her revert to her younger days,' that was it, she couldn't take anymore, "Fine. I'll be in my room, then."_

"_Me, too," Buffy said, as she started to stand up._

"_Buffy, I want to talk to you," Joyce said, seriously, "Dawn, you can go."_

_Of course, Buffy was about to probably catch a break from Joyce, as usual, but that didn't matter. Dawn felt something more extreme was needed; something to push all of them in the right direction; to open their eyes. She headed towards her room, first walking slowly as she went searched her mind for some kind of solution; some kind of way to get things going, and then it clicked--She quickened her pace, practically running to her room. When she opened the door and saw that Kennedy was still in there, she told the older teen to get out, to not say anything at all, and just get out--to her surprise, Kennedy actually walked out of the room, not even trying to argue at all, 'Guess she feels bad…or maybe she suddenly remembered that this is my room.'_

_Once Kennedy had closed the door behind her, Dawn went over to her closet, grabbing the magic book June had given her. She had only looked through it a few times, but she was sure she had seen something…, 'Here it is,' she read the page quickly, making sure that it was the right spell. It was basic, just like all the other ones in the book, so she figured that it wouldn't cause any real damage, 'It's just going to open their eyes for a bit, and then wear off,' she just knew it would work. She placed the book on her dresser, and began to gather the few things she would need--mostly, she needed pictures of everyone that would be involved, including herself. The book said it was necessary for the one that was casting the spell to provide something as well, so it would work correctly, so she decided to just use all the pictures from her birthday party. She was practically in all of them after all._

_Just as she had began to get things started, she heard her name being called, but it wasn't someone from downstairs, or outside her door, it was someone right beside her--_

"Dawn, wake up."

Her eyes shot open, once she realized that she recognized that voice as one she had not expect to hear at all, "Leah?"

"Hey," she gave a weak smile, as Dawn started to sit up slowly, "You okay?" she asked, her voice slightly shaky. Once Dawn was sitting up, she backed up a little, and then decided to walk away all together.

"I'm fine," there were so many things she could have said to the girl; so many things she wanted to say, ranging from a series of angry sentences, to saying how happy she was to see her. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to go in either one of those directions. There was a single question she just had to ask, "Why are you here?"

Leah froze, she walked across the room, practically standing in and facing one of the corners of the room. She had to do it--No matter how much she just wanted to run out of that room, or teleport out, or anything to escape, she couldn't do it. This had to be done. She took a deep breath, "When I first saw you, I just instantly felt this connection to you. Like, some part of me had been searching and I had finally found it. You were so mysterious. Smart. Beautiful. And you just had this glow about you that I couldn't wrap my head around. I knew right away that I had to find some excuse to get closer to you; that there was no way I could see you there everyday, and not…not explore everything that you are. If that makes any sense," she sighed.

Dawn closed her eyes, "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because --Beacause I have to tell you," no matter how much she didn't want to, she had to keep going, "So when we finally did become friends, I was so happy. I mean," she huffed, "I've never really had many friends in the first place, so being your friend was just--amazing," her words, she felt, were not ones that made sense. It was like she couldn't put anything into words; or at lease not into the right words. This is why she had dreaded it so much, "I felt that I could tell you anything, and everything…"

"But you didn't--you don't," Dawn interjected.

"But just the fact that I want to--Dawn, I've never ever felt what I feel for you, for anyone else. Beyond the fact that you're my best friend. Every time I spent time with you, it was like I had finally gotten to that place that I had always dreamed of. Nothing was complicated, and I finally felt so…normal. I had never felt that before. You gave that to me. I was so happy to have a friend like you, and all this that's going on right now--It's ripping me apart."

**************************************

Willow rang the doorbell again, wondering what was keeping them from opening the door. She knew that someone had to be in the house; the gallery was still a few hours away, and everyone in the Summers house had to take a century to get ready, so some had to be there.

Finally, the door opened, and she smiled, "Hey, Kennedy," though she had actually come to talk to Kennedy, she was actually feeling that maybe she needed a moment or two to make sure she knew exactly what she was doing, "Is Buffy here?" she asked.

"Yep, she's upstairs getting ready…even though we have forever before we actually need to head out," she laughed, "Pretty sure she's not naked, so you can just go up there if you want. But, uh, Leah's up there with Dawn so…if you hear any yelling, or--other stuff--don't worry about it."

"Okay…" she walked inside the house, ignoring the fact that she could feel Kennedy staring at her, and headed upstairs. Talking to Buffy would give her a little bit of time for sure. She hoped, however that there would be no yelling, or other stuff from Dawn's room. She knocked on Buffy's door, "Hey, Buff, it's me."

"Oh, hey, Will," Buffy said, opening the door with a smile, "What are you doing here?" she asked, going back to sit in front of her mirror, "I thought we were all just going to meet up there, though it probably would be smarter for us all to carpool."

"True. Very true. I just thought I'd stop by. How's the getting ready, going? You're looking mighty classy so far, while I on the other hand have no clothes of class," she laughed, sitting down on her best friend's bed.

Buffy laughed, "I'm not exactly sure when I got these slacks, but mom got me this nice blouse just for this occasion. Weird that she's gifting when we're celebrating her, but I'm thinking she just didn't want me to show up looking…something other than classy," she paused, "I'm gonna stop by Faith's before I head out to the gallery with Kennedy and Dawn," stopping by wasn't exactly what she was going to do, she was actually going to go over to see the brunette slayer, and see if the dinner offer still stood.

Willow noticed a slight change in her best friend, "You, um, thinking of maybe…making tonight's outing more than just a friendly thing with Faith?" she questioned, knowing that if Buffy wasn't going to make the gallery a sort of date, then she was at least going to try to pursue something with Faith. In her opinion, despite the whole June being there, it seemed inevitable that Faith and Buffy would give it another try. And, actually, she wanted them to.

"Um, something like that. The last two days have pretty much been screaming 'Buffy just go for it,' so I'm thinking that I may just do that," no matter how risky it was, but like Dawn said, it could be the best thing that's ever happened to me. So, yeah, I think I'll give it a shot--after a talk, though, because we have to talk about a few things, of course, but I think that it should work out. She asked me out last night, so…"

"What?" Willow gasped, "Why wasn't I told this immediately following? Hello, best friend here."

"Sorry, I know. I just wasn't sure what I was going to do, so I hadn't exactly started to spread the word. I just told Dawn, and she would have somehow found out anyways. She seems to know everything these days," seeing that she was finished getting ready, Buffy turned to her friend, "Okay, so I'm ready now, and I'm going to go, and it's going to be great. And, you my friend, are going to go talk to Kennedy. Pretty much now. So, come one."

"Okay," she wasn't going to argue, because it was what she had come to do, after all. So, she followed Buffy down stairs, wishing her good luck a thousand times over--in her head mostly, but still.

Buffy waved to Kennedy, who was sitting on the couch, "I'll be back, okay?"

"If you don't come back, I'll know where to find you," she smiled.

Buffy rolled her eyes, and then turned to Willow, "Bye Will, I'll see you later."

"Okay," once Buffy was gone, Willow went in the living room, and sat down next to Kennedy, "So, I've been thinking things over," she laughed, "A lot, and I think that we should not break up."

Kennedy's brows rose, "Really?"

"Yep, I'm thinking that with the way things have been going, us breaking up really won't do us any good," she stopped for a moment, the happiness about her seeming to fade slightly, "I'm worried, Kennedy. Every time I see you, I worry that you're hiding something from me, and whatever it is…it's destroying you, and even though I wish you would tell me everything, I can't just sit by and not be there for you as you go through whatever this is."

The brunette swallowed hard, her heart pounding. There was something she was hiding from Willow, and strangely enough, she had not felt the weight from it in a long time--until that very moment, "I'm just so confused. And, not just about us. About everything. It's just that with us…I'm so confused."

Willow put her hand on the girl's leg, remembering something that had been said to her only an hour or two before "Just because you don't know where it comes from, doesn't mean it's not real."

She looked down at the hand on her leg, putting her own on top of it, and then looked to those green eyes, "That's what I'm afraid of."

**************************************

Faith answered her door hesitantly, seeing that her room was back to being a mess, but was still happy to see the blonde nonetheless, "June," she frowned, "I'm starting to think that you're going to make a habit of this randomly showing up…oh wait, more of a habit. Come on in," she laughed, "Don't mind the mess."

"Ah, this is what I'm used to seeing when I come here," June smiled, "I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to hang out before the gallery. I'm already ready, so--" she looked Faith over, "Hopefully you're not wearing leather pants."

She laughed, "Well, I ain't got much else. Rich and all, I prefer to keep things simple. I have some nice jeans. That's about as good as it gets, really. Joyce knows that, she won't care, and I don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks, so…"

"Right," she watched as Faith went over to the mirror above the sink, adding a few final touches, "I'm gonna sit, just to let you know," things would have to go quickly. It wasn't that she didn't want to take things slow; to make it completely genuine and heartfelt, but she didn't have that much time. They would have to be at the gallery soon, and if she didn't do it in that very moment, she'd completely miss her chance. This was her final shot, and she needed to put everything in place as quick as possible.

"Feel free. It's not like you wouldn't just do what you wanted in the end," she could have said no, if she wanted to, and she knew that June would have sat down anyways. The blonde just always had her own agenda, and no one could get in the way of that. Not even her, "So, what made you decide to stop by, not that I'm not happy to hang out with you."

"Why does there have to be a reason?" June asked, "Can't I just come see you for no reason?"

There was something about the way that June asked that question; something in her voice…the softness of it, and yet there was an obvious aggressiveness behind it as well. Just not the kind that she had expected to hear. She stopped what she was doing, and turned to face the blue eyed girl, "There's always a reason. I just hadn't expected it to be this one," there was a look in the girl's eyes, and she knew she was right. The only question was--was either one of them actually going to do something about it, and if they did, what would it mean?

June licked her lips, "Hmm," just a little bit more, and she'd be set. She just had to make sure she played her cards right. The spell, she could feel, was slowly starting to lessen in power, but still--if she didn't do this right, Faith would end up going in a completely different direction that she was hoping for, "So, how was your patrolling with Buffy last night? Anything interesting happen?"

"Well, if you consider the fact that I've now been rejected by two people in an extremely short amount of time interesting, then yes," she laughed, "That has never happened to me before. Actually, I've never really been rejected," she laughed, again, "But I think I'm definitely catching up for lost times, in that department."

June stood up, "I guess so," she nodded, slowly walking over to the brunette slayer. Faith's eyes never left hers, and she knew that she was ready. Things were going to work out, though many would think that they were turning more towards chaos. This was how it had to be done. She walked up to her, placing a hand on her side, pulling her closer, "But tonight, there will be no rejections," there was her moment--she pulled Faith even closer, pushing their lips together, and though at first Faith did not respond at all, after a moment the brunette's hands were on her back, and she could feel herself being pushed towards the bed.

***************************************

"Then, why?" Dawn asked, as she turned to look at Leah, who had moved from her corner, and was standing a few feet away, "If it rips you apart so much, then why did you even do it? Did you think that for some reason it wouldn't feel this way?"

"No," she shook her head, "I knew, but…"

"You had to do it, and I couldn't possibly understand, right?" she stood up, "That excuse just isn't working for me anymore."

"And, I'm not trying to make any excuses. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, so yeah, I knew it would hurt," now she approached Dawn, she felt that she could at least do that, "My life has been so--you have no idea what I've gone through, and when I met you and all that faded away, I just knew that I could never walk away from you. That there was absolutely nothing that could keep me away from you. You were the only thing that kept me from going crazy, and you were the only thing in my life that didn't make me want to go crazy. When I tell you that I care about you, I mean it. I mean it, Dawn, and you know I do. And, I want to stand here and tell you that I'm ready. That we can be together, and everything will be fine. I want to be able to walk out this door, knowing that on the other side my girlfriend is just as happy as I am that we're not being torn apart by things I can't even talk about--"

She was trying to fight back the tears; trying not to let that vulnerability show, but she couldn't, and after a moment, they started to fall, "Then do it. Tell met that you're not going to ever do that to me again, and I'll forget all about it," Leah reached up, wiping a tear from her cheek, just as her own tears started to build. Dawn felt that finally things would go right; that this one conversation could change it all, "Just say it," the girl pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly.

Leah sighed, "I want to be with you," she waited a moment, making sure that she could feel that overwhelming radiation of joy flowing from the girl, and then she spoke again, "And, I'm so sorry for everything that I've done," it was there--the joy was there, and now she had to do it, "I know you did a spell, Dawn."

Dawn pulled back, "You do? How?"

"Shh," she pushed a strand of hair out of the girls face, "Don't worry about it," it came out as a whisper; full of everything that she could and couldn't say. There was only one last thing to do; one last thing that would break the spell. Not because of what it was, but because of the fact that it would overwhelm Dawn. It would push her into a state of happiness beyond the explanation of words. She took a deep breath, "We just can't…" she whispered, so quietly that she knew Dawn probably couldn't hear her, as she leaned in, "I'm sorry," she had hoped for this moment for so long, and it was finally there--

Their lips touched, and she felt as if sparks were moving through her whole body, passing between the two of them, as they held their place. It didn't need to be anymore than what it was. There was no need for some romantic date, or anything like that. That was it. A moment where all the bad things seemed to fade away. Unfortunately, Leah knew that wasn't the case.

Leah pulled back, letting their heads rest on one another's for a moment, and then she placed one more peck on those lips, before turning to leave, "I'm sorry. It was the only way," and with that, she vanished.

It took a moment, but eventually Dawn realized what had happened. It all hit her suddenly; all the pain and sadness came flowing out of her, as she fell to her knees, and her tears ran free.

**************************************

Buffy walked back through the front door, as quietly as she could. She hadn't made it there; to Faith's place. Somewhere between their and the house, she had suddenly stopped, and once again filled with doubts and questions. To her, that meant that maybe she wasn't as ready as she had thought. That no matter what Faith had said the night before, they shouldn't jump into anything, and she should just continue to be there for her fellow slayer. If they could make it through that, and create that strong bond like the one they once had, then she would take that risk. She just didn't think they had reached that point.

As she moved to pass the living room, still trying to be as quiet as possible, she spotted Willow and Kennedy on the couch--They were laughing about something; obviously she had obviously just missed hearing, and then Kennedy stopped laughing, and just smiled at the redhead. Willow didn't even seem to notice at all. That was, until Kennedy suddenly kissed her out of nowhere. Buffy felt herself blush, slightly, and turned away, 'At least somebody's getting it right,' she smiled, as she continued to head towards the stairs, hoping that she would one day get it right as well.

***************************************

Faith sighed, sitting up to light a cigarette, "I've gotta admit that was not exactly something I expected to ever happen again," she laughed. After what had happened when she had gone to see June before, she had not expected to ever find herself anywhere close to being in bed with the blonde ever again. She had been so devastated, and shocked by the blonde's sudden change of heart, but by the events that had just occurred… "So what exactly was the point of the other day, then?"

June laid there silently, staring towards the blinds in the room. She had felt her coming; had expected her to actually make it there, and find them in bed, but she was glad that she hadn't--even though that had been part of her plan. Things would just have to be re-worked a little. She sat up, walking over to Faith's dresser, seeing the envelope on it, "Faith…"

She didn't like the sound of that--That distant sadness in June's voice, "What's wrong?"

Her hand shook as she picked it up, "Everything," she answered, turning to walk back over to the bed. She sat it down next to Faith, and began to pick up her clothes, and put them on, "Read it."

"What? Why?" June shot her a look, one that she had never seen the blonde give, and she picked up the envelope, "Okay."

June sighed, turning to look away from the brunette, 'This is where it all begins.'

-- TO BE CONTINUED--

Oh my gosh…I don't think I've ever been so happy to finish a chapter!! I mean…I'm sure you guys are happy I finished too haha. Anyways, uh, I hope that you all enjoyed this. I'm thinking it went pretty okay…And it was a big package to time--I'll be taking care of that Amends chapter…take two. Thanks so much for reading, and once again, I'm sorry for the wait. -*ThomThom*

P.S. sorry for any typos...


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